The Hero & The Psycho
by D0T
Summary: "I only keep you alive because you resemble him, I only hurt you little, because you help me forget about my stressful life. I have nothing against you, but your face, it just stirs something within me... It draws me near..." She said, he couldn't bear hearing those words. "Are you implying that I'm your slave?" She smiled "No, Masuta, you're my precious little toy." Budo/Ayano
1. Chapter 1

**Heya everyone! First, I'd like to thank you for picking this story to read, secondly, I'd like to point out that this is a** _ **very**_ **disturbing little tale that I had in mind for a while. It was inspired by the drama CD** _ **Yan Ero (**_ **Yandere Erotica) which is an R-18 Otome Drama with very good voice actors and amazing backstories. The fun thing is that I've swapped the roles, so yeah...**

 **Please enjoy and review if the story pleased you! Support is appreciated.**

The Hero & The Psycho.

 _Introduction._

The rain poured, leaving no traces of her bloody footsteps to be seen. The sky was dark and grey, nearly the same dull grey as her eyes. The thunder was loud, roaring even... representing her inner fury, her hatred towards her victim, even when dead, she hated her... hated her so much she just wanted to murder her all over again.

Lightning... She had been as bright and as quick as lightning when she had sliced her throat, easily, neatly, and cruelly. The blood had been easily washed away due to the heavy rain, barely visible on her dark clothes. It was a rather cold night, but she settled comfortably enough with a navy blue dress. She wanted to be cute for her Senpai, even when he couldn't actually see her.

Ayano was breathing heavily from exhaustion, her latest victim; Kuronuma Hanabi, was an extreme pain in the behind to drag. For a girl who is barely 159cm tall, she weighted a _lot,_ and yet Ayano motivated herself by thinking that no matter how fat that little wench was, her weight couldn't compare with her hatred.

"This is what happens... Nh... When you try to... Mess with my beloved senpai!" She declared with pride as she threw the rather curvaceous girl inside a trash container. Of course, it wasn't a particularly bright idea, but at least it was dealt with rather skilfully.

The rain had drenched her completely from head to toe, making her dress stick on her body, revealing her feminine curves. Ayano tsked at herself for such incredibly bad and clumsy timing, the weather forecast was _never_ right, but coincidently, it always matched along with her mood.

Rain suited her, she believed. It was a necessary flow of life, of pure water that fell from the sky, cleansing her, making her feel pure and lovely again. She was quite aware of her rather unusual psychotic tendencies, but it barely managed to stir anything within her.

It was all because of _them_ anyway, _they_ had ruined her, fucked her over, how was she supposed to live normally? Not to mention.. It ran through the blood, just link Info-chan said.

Ayano sighed as she squatted, trying to calm herself. The past week had been very stressful and that little slut of Kuronuma made it worse. She wanted to get rid of her, truly she did, but that day of all days wasn't quite the right moment. She was just coming back home from the convenience store, and suddenly... she saw her, with her senpai, and...

... It just happened.

Ayano had followed, leaving the bags containing the groceries way behind her, a new goal already planned and carefully calculated. The murder of Hanabi.

The feeling just came and overflew her with hatred and fury, for it was her nature. The sight of her beloved being tainted by such an obscene girl had disgusted her, and just like that... She killed her right in her neighbourhood.

Of course, her senpai was long gone, she wouldn't have been able to bear the thought of him witnessing her in that _state._

"Dumb whore..." she muttered as she stood up, carefully hiding her pocket knife within her bra. She didn't have pockets on her dress, and she needed to feel the reassuring cold metal of a blade on her skin at all times, it was a rather convenient spot as well... Though she never planned to reveal it to anyone, it was for... rather ominous purposes.

Ayano smiled, she was content. It was another rival dismissed, another pain gone and forgotten. They were only in the month of May, school had started barely a month ago, but she was already at her third victim. Murder within school grounds was a pain, but what the heck? As long as she was careful, nobody suspected her.

Who would suspect plain old Ayano Aishi? The girl who smiles politely, refuses any kind of invitation and blends in perfectly with the background?

 _The perks of being average,_ she giggled as she took the short route home, _ah, I'll get scolded again, but whatever. I had the chance to see my senpai, and to kill a meddling little slut as well, tonight's definitely a good night._

She giggled again, still satisfied with her job well done, not minding the rain, until a rather familiar, slender and slightly muscular figure appeared before her.

Ayano's eyes widened at the sight before her and had a small panic attack, the boy, who appeared to be just as surprised, halted immediately. She knew him, how could she not? He was a fellow classmate of her senpai, a boy whom he had a very friendly and respectful relationship with, a guy who, quite annoyingly; had the same _exact_ face as her senpai, save for his eyes... Which were a lot fiercer, stronger and... manlier.

Budo Masuta, from class 3-2, the president of the martial arts club and the so called 'ally of justice', was staring at her quite confusingly. He appeared to be in a struggle to find the right words, for he ought to admit, it was definitely odd to find a giggling young girl, wearing nothing but a dress under the heavy rain.

Quite odd indeed.

And yet, though he was still very confused, he somehow managed to realize who she was, or rather... barely.

"Hey, you're... you're from my school, right?" He started, brows furrowed slightly. Ayano used her signature smile, appearing rather nonchalant of the unexpected meeting. She closed her eyes, tilted her head and bowed slightly.

"Yeah, that's correct. I'm Ayano Aishi from class 2-1, your kouhai, how do you do, Masuta-senpai?" She inwardly cringed at what followed his name, she hated to call anyone her senpai _aside_ from _her_ senpai, it made her feel rather unfaithful.

Budo looked mildly surprised, she knew his name? That was... flattering, to say the least, but in the state she was in, introducing herself wasn't top priority. The poor girl was soaking wet, she must've been extremely cold! The dress she was wearing really wouldn't do much in protecting her from the rain and chilly weather; they were still in spring and had yet to see summer's bashing light.

Now that he thought about it... That dress was certainly very wet, it practically clung on her like second skin...

He immediately shook his head and gave her a sharp and displeased stare.

"What do you think you're doing here out in the rain?! It's really dangerous for a young girl to walk in the dark outside, you'll catch a cold!" he wasn't shouting, but he was most definitely loud. Budo immediately took off his red hoodie and put it on Ayano, surprising her. "Put this on, I don't like it when girls fall sick."

"Um, thank you." She was a bit awkward, it was the first time a guy actually showed her kindness, aside from senpai of course. The fact that he had nearly all the same features certainly didn't help. "But if I take this, you'll be the one who'll—"

"No, I won't. I'm strong and healthy, so you don't have to worry about me, besides... Even if I did fall sick, it wouldn't be half bad, now come on! Tell me where you live, I'll walk you home."

Ayano furrowed her brows, "you don't have to, really!"

"It's a duty to me," he informed her, looking dead serious, "really, what kind of guy am I to leave my innocent kouhai on her own?"

She wanted to laugh at the word 'innocent'. That word wasn't welcomed in her dictionary, aside, well... For senpai.

She eventually sighed in defeat, fine, if that annoying little follower of justice wanted to take her home, so be it. It wasn't like he witnessed anything, so it was all good, even if it was a bit uncalled for.

"Thank you very much! I appreciate it, really." She smiled again, trying to ignore the weird sensation she received from him. He grinned, a grin that looked almost too cheerful.

"No problem! So... Where's your house?"

* * *

"Thanks again for walking me home, and sorry for taking your hoodie... Now you're wet because of me as well."

"Meh," he shrugged, "No harm's done, I was happy to be of help, the rain was good endurance training for me as well."

Ayano smiled as she peeked within the house, her parents weren't home because of work, so she was practically alone now. An idea came into her mind.

"Why don't you come in? You know, to have a drink, dry off for a while before leaving, to thank you."

Budo rubbed the back of his neck nervously, a slight blush on his cheeks, "No, I... I wouldn't like to intrude, really. I'll just run off now, still, I'm thankful for the offer." He wore his hoodie and bowed slightly, it was wet, but he honestly didn't mind. "Well! Goodbye, Aishi-san! Take care."

Ayano waved him goodbye as he dashed away, he waved back. The moment he was gone, she slammed the door shut and got rid of that hypocritical little smile. Damn, she truly hated pretending to be such a good girl.

But... It was her senpai's friend, she had to keep the good girl act, no matter what.

Her cheeks flushed, he really did look like her senpai... Even if his personality was completely different, that Budo, he resembled him... So... So much...

She felt the butterflies on her stomach and bit her lip, "He just looks like him, that's not my senpai."

Ayano walked up the stairs and threw off her clothes, getting ready to shower. She looked at her body and inspected it, she still had a few bruises left from that time, but they were scarring quickly.

Ashamed, Ayano began stroking herself, she needed to be relieved, relieved from all that stress, from not being able to be close to her senpai. The fact that she crossed paths with Budo didn't help, she hated that guy, don't get her wrong, but...

He looked so much like Taro...

She stroked, at a steady pace, feeling her own nipples harden from all the pleasure. She needed it, she truly did, it was a necessary ritual to keep herself sane.

Murder was also a necessary ritual, except it was harder to complete.

She continued building up her pleasure until she felt her release, letting the hot warm liquid pour slowly from between her legs.

"Oh Senpai, if only it were you..." She sighed, her cheeks flushed red. She was glad that it wasn't Taro but Budo that she crossed paths with, heaven knows how she would've acted in front of him. But that hero wannabe... She felt somewhat neutral in front of him, despite him having the same face as her beloved.

 _That's because you already know that he's not senpai..._ She thought as she started washing herself.

Ayano decided to forget about it, tomorrow would be a school day, and she wanted to start studying a bit before the surprise tests, better be prepared, right?

As soon as she was ready for bed, Ayano kneeled in front of her senpai's shrine, looking adoringly at her beloved's picture. She traced his face on the picture with her finger, mesmerized by his soft features. He was truly an angel, an angel who was pure, innocent and caring. Deep down, she knew she didn't deserve him, but a part of her, a sick part wanted him all for herself, she wanted to keep him close, with no one approaching.

Sadly, even if he would end up with her one day, she'd have to keep the good girl mask, for all eternity.

He would never know who she truly was.

But it didn't matter, and it never will... Because wherever he'd be, whomever he'd be with... She'd take him, snatch him back and keep him for herself.

"I love you senpai, I always will..."

She kissed the picture frame and went to bed.

Meanwhile, Budo, who was already in the comfort of his home, thought long and hard about his current encounter. That girl... Ayano Aishi, she was an oddball, but she appeared to be nice and generous, polite even. It was rare for a girl to be as sweet as her, most girls nowadays were not very demure and acted older than they should've. They also had that weird habit of dyeing their hair all the time, which was awfully bothersome. He liked girls who kept their natural hair colour, girls who were modest and not too flashy, like Ayano, for instance.

He had seen her quite a few times on the school grounds, but didn't really pay that much attention to her, she really faded into the background.

"That's fine though, I'm sure she's kind." He smiled to himself.

Even if deep down, he felt the weirdest of chills run down his spine.

 **TBC.**

 **Please review! I love this game!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews! I'll be sure to update every 3 days. Chapters won't be so long, but I'll try to compensate by updating quickly. A quick info: in this fic, I decided to give Yandere-chan some sort of dark past, it will affect her relationship with both senpai and Budo, and make the story more interesting... Things won't be very accurate, but the personas, characters and everything should be canon (taken from the Yandere Simulator wiki) aside from that, I'll try and change things up a bit.**

 **That's how I want it to be anyway.**

 **Enjoy.**

The Hero & The Psycho.

Ayano had always hated school and everything related to it. It was always the same routine, same faces and same rumours spreading about in the school's corridors. Girls would giggle, snicker, whisper... Boys would do same, but be less discrete about it. She knew how the world worked, and how teenagers worked, especially... Though she decided to turn a blind eye and make herself blend in rather plainly.

It was the intelligent thing to do, and it was surprisingly strategic; if she ever wanted to observe.

Ayano watched with interest as Kokona's gang started arguing with a girl from class 1-1, a redhead who appeared to be quite nonchalant about the whole deal. She kept looking at them with bored eyes, as if everything that came out of their mouths was pure, nonsense.

"What you did was wrong, you should apologize!" a girl with green pigtails spoke, Ayano recognized her; it was Koharu Hinata from her class, a simple-minded girl who loved to socialize. She appeared to be anxious, much to Ayano's convenience.

"Yeah! That was totally uncalled for, wasn't she your friend?!" a girl with blue hair spoke, her hairstyle was very similar to Koharu's, Ayano figured she was that third year who tagged along with her... They were practically sisters, even if they weren't related by blood.

The redhead smirked, as if she was enjoying herself. Ayano took a bite of sashimi from her lunchbox, still very interested in what was going on. She despised Kokona's gang, mainly because it consisted of stupid, social butterflies who loved to gossip. But that girl? Though she saw her tagging along with them, was still very interesting. She must've forgotten her name, due to her appearing not so very often...

"Why should I apologize? I only spoke the truth, she's a slut... Let's all face it," the redhead twirled a strand of her hair, Koharu and her friend, (Saki Miyu, she remembered...) both gasped in pure and utter shock. Ayano smiled and took another bite of her rice.

"How could you say that?! What did Kokona-chan ever do to you?!"

She snorted, "You don't need a reason to bash people, I spoke the truth, I mean it, she's a _slut._ Not only does she flirt and bat her eyelashes at every guy who comes by, but she also claims to have a crush on that dude, -What was his name again..?- Taro... Taro something, yeah, that's it." She appeared to be satisfied with the surprised stares coming from both girls, she continued nonetheless, "oh now you two, stop pretending that you actually _care!_ Please, I already saw the envious glares you throw at that chick, you can't help but hate her because of those amazing _assets!_ Am I right?" She turned to look at Saki, who suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"Wh-what are you looking at?!" She backed a few steps away, the girl smirked.

"Miyu-chan, don't you have a crush on that Sosuke guy? I know you do, the way you look at him could only mean _that."_ She ignored her gasp and blushing cheeks, "And I know... that he has a very soft spot for Haruka-senpai."

"S-So what if he likes her?! I still haven't confessed my feelings towards him yet, he could love me too! It doesn't mean that I'll hate Kokona-chan for it or—"

"Feeeh, bo-ring! You're both hypocrites anyway, why should I bother? I'm leavin' this group, it's none of my business, you two can both screw yourselves like the little whores you are, I deserve better." She stretched and walked away, leaving both girls dumbfounded and irritated. Ayano quickly grabbed her phone and took a picture of the girl whilst chewing on her fish. She sent the picture to Info-Chan, who was quick to reply.

 _'That's Yui Rio, from class 1-1, your kouhai. She's known for being quite the evil little witch, she doesn't seem to have a crush, but apparently, she's in good terms with Chojo Tekina from 2-1, your classmate.'_

"Eh... That loner? She has bad taste," Ayano muttered to herself as she took a last bite from her lunchbox. It was good to get as much information as she could from all the students, it would end up being useful for her future plans. That Yui girl must've been the cause of Kokona's sudden depression, after all... Being publicly called a _slut_ wasn't comforting, she also spoke those words in front of senpai, which could explain why it impacted her so harshly.

"Well, that was rather disappointing; I was the one who wanted to make her life miserable... But that's that, when she'll come back to school, I'll be sure to end her, after all... No one can have a crush on senpai but me." She sang joyfully as she wrapped her empty lunchbox and headed towards the fountain, where her beloved Senpai was sitting, peacefully admiring the bright blue sky. She smiled and sighed dreamily at the sight, her senpai... her one and only senpai was just so beautiful to look at. At first glance, he looked like a simple, plain high –school student, but he was far more than that. He showed her kindness, helped her, smiled at her and was more than kind towards everybody. He made her heart flutter, made her sweat and feel an intense sensation within her lower belly. Ayano had never been more at ease simply by just admiring a young boy, it was most definitely odd, but she didn't care, those sensations pleased her to no end, and it all threatened to make her head explode in dizziness.

She wanted him, and very soon.

The sad part was that his kindness had reached the heart of many girls, girls who stood in her way, girls who... Quite annoyingly, were all more beautiful and more interesting than her. Ayano Aishi was no social butterfly, or a loner... Well, she was seen as a loner but she really wasn't. She got along with her classmates, which was already good, but she just didn't really fit in with everybody. Her hobbies, her way of life, it was all seen as strange when she talked about them, so she just backed away and spent the remaining of her lunch breaks alone. It never bothered her, but the moment she met senpai... It became sacred, heavenly, and all that, just because she got to see and admire his beauty from a safe distance.

Considering Kokona Haruka wasn't coming to school (temporarily) Ayano decided to rest a bit and continue admiring her senpai. If she ever came back though... She'd be ready to end her in the most unique of ways, but until then... Resting was a good option.

Her senpai suddenly took out from his pocket what appeared to be a very small notebook, she tilted her head, slightly confused but mainly interested in what he was doing. He started writing with a short pen something... Or rather, was he scribbling? She didn't know, but she wanted to understand what was happening in that fascinating brain of his.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a familiar voice called out to him, a voice she heard not so long ago.

"Hey, Yamada!" A boy wearing a white bandana with black hair greeted, senpai got up from his reverie and hid the notebook inside his pocket.

"Hello, Masuta, how are you doing today?" He smiled, Ayano nearly melted at the sight of her senpai smiling. Budo shrugged and gave him a grin of his own.

"Doing okay, I suppose. I've been trying to get some new members for my club, wanna' join?" He suggested, senpai chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"I... I'm not really sure about joining the martial arts club... I've never been good at hand-to-hand combat."

 _And I don't think I'll be able to bare seeing those brutes scratch his beautiful face..._ Ayano thought to herself.

"Well, I could teach you! I'm a master, you know? A hero!" he rubbed with his index finger the bottom of his nose and gave him a thumbs up, "I'm like the Jackie-chan of the modern day! I could even rip my shirt off without any difficultly!"

Senpai laughed and waved his hand dismissively, "please don't do that here... I don't want people to stop and watch."

"Eh? Are you jealous that I'll gain the attention of all the ladies here?" He smirked and gestured at the bunch of girls who were having lunch not so far from there. Taro rolled his eyes and shook his head, the same neutral smile illuminating his features.

"I'm not worried about that, I'm worried about your reputation, I don't want my friend to be labelled as a 'weirdo', not until we graduate."

"Fine, fine! Whatever you say, princess." Budo teased, they both walked back to class at the sound of the bell, with Senpai rolling his eyes and Budo teasing him further. Ayano pursed her lips at what she witnessed, they really were good friends... She had to be careful around him and show him a better side of her, hopefully... That'll make Senpai have a better outlook of her.

She quietly cleaned herself up and headed to class.

* * *

The day ended rather quickly, it was time to go home. Budo yawned in obvious boredom the moment he exited the class. He despised history, it was just as plain and disgusting as pickled radish. Some people would've laughed at that, for, as a martial arts master, it was necessary to learn the history of every move, every martial artist and every martial art that existed to gain further knowledge. However, it was all different when it came to him, all he wanted was to practice, become stronger and live his youth to its fullest. He wanted to protect his family and friends the best he could, it was his ideology, and he intended to follow it wherever and whenever.

Taro Yamada told him that it wouldn't be necessary to walk home together, so the young lad simply shrugged and headed towards his shoe locker. He arranged his stuff, took off his jacket and wore his outside shoes before heading off. Midway upon doing so, he noticed a familiar girl getting ready to walk out as well, he smiled and greeted her upon recognizing who she was.

Ayano turned, alarmed at the voice of Budo Masuta.

"Ah, Aishi-san!" He said, happily walking towards her, "You heading home?"

Ayano blinked a few times before giving him a smile of her own, "yes, it was a rather tiring day. I don't think cram school would be fun to attend right now."

He grimaced, "ew, you actually go study there?"

She nodded, "Often, but today's an exception, in fact... I think I'm quitting it this year..." _For senpai,_ she added mentally.

"You have good grades, don't you? If that's the case then I don't see why you should bother with it. Personally, it's just a waste of time for good students."

"If you say so, but my parents insisted I attend so I couldn't really complain..." she just shook her head and waved it off, "anyway, that's not important."

Budo rolled his shoulders and suggested with a smile, "welp, since you don't go to cram school and you're just about ready to head home, how about I walk with you?"

Ayano's eyes twitched at that, but she remained calm.

If he escorted her home, she wouldn't be able to stalk senpai and make sure he's safe...

"I'm fine, I have a bike so it'll be easy to get home early and quickly..." She informed him, Budo bit his lip.

"Hm, is that so..." he sighed but smiled regardless, "well if you insist then—"

But before Budo could finish his sentence, Taro came dashing from the corridor, looking surprised at finding him there.

"Huh? Masuta-kun, you're still here?" He looked genuinely surprised, "I thought you'd already be gone by now."

"Oh, I was just talking to Aishi here." He smiled boyishly, Taro tilted his head in confusion.

"Who?"

"Our kouhai, Ayano Ai—" he stopped as he turned but found no one, as if Ayano had never been there talking to him mere seconds ago. He scratched his head confusingly, she was a fast one... But her departing so quickly intrigued him.

"You sure you're okay, Masuta?" Taro asked out of concern, Budo looked at him and shook his head.

"No, I'm fine." He looked more confused than ever, "Damn, I swore I was just talking to her a few seconds ago!"

Taro laughed and gave him a friendly nudge on the arm, "you sure you weren't dreaming? I mean... you, talking to a girl? Get real!"

Budo pouted angrily, "I wasn't dreaming..."

As both of them started walking home, Ayano peeked at their departing figures from behind a tree, clenching her heart area; which was beating insanely.

* * *

The next day...

Lunch time came sooner than expected and Ayano found herself eating lunch alone again. She was rather amazed at herself, for waking up so early and making a lunchbox that lacked of nothing. Living alone was a pain, but it had its perks as well. She was able to spend the night playing videogames, read manga, and do... other things without worrying about her parents. All in all, it was rather fun.

She took a bite of her rice and looked through her phone for other useful information, Info-Chan had proven herself to be a great ally in her killing sprees. Sure, she asked for lots of panty shots in exchange for information, spreading rumours and other things, but it was still worth the effort.

Ayano started thinking about various ways to get rid of Kokona when she'd come back to school, her mind drifting from pretending suicide, or electrocuting her, until...

"Aishi-san!" Budo's cheerful voice interrupted her train of thoughts.

She cursed mentally.

"Oh, hello, Masuta-senpai."

He looked different, not too different but still different, nonetheless. With his hair tied in a low ponytail and unbuttoned jacket, he appeared almost like a delinquent, but it didn't bother her, nor did she care, actually.

He sat next to her on the bench of the school's backyard, still smiling boyishly.

"It's such a nice coincidence to see you again, especially here. I didn't think that there'd be students here, actually." He informed her as he took out a bag containing some bread. He opened it and chewed on it enthusiastically. Ayano noticed that he was sweating, he must've been training hard.

"It's quiet and nice here," she said, feeling at ease. He glanced towards her direction and nodded joyfully, his mouth full.

"Yup, and the breeze feels nice!"

Ayano looked at him, and at the bread, then at him again.

"When are you having lunch?" She pointed out, lunch time was nearly over and all he had was some bread. He looked at her as if it was the dumbest question in the universe and lifted his bread slightly.

"Thwast my lwunch." He said, his mouth full. Her eyes widened at that.

"But that's hardly consistent! You should eat something more nutritional."

Budo shrugged, finishing his bread, "I'm used to it, I'm never that hungry during lunch time, and I'd much rather remain light on my feet. Besides, I'd hate to trouble my mom further, she already has a hard time making lunch for my six sisters."

If Ayano had been drinking at that moment, she would've spitted everything out.

"S-Six sisters?"

Budo nodded, "yup, six sisters, with me being the only boy and second child. She makes them lunchboxes every day, well, aside from my big sister, who's already at university... I never liked to ask much of my mother, so I told her that it's fine for me to buy bread for lunch."

"How thoughtful of you, but still I... I think that's hardly good for your body."

"Don't worry about it, bread suffices."

Ayano shook her head and put her lunchbox between them, on the bench. Budo looked at her, confused. She merely pursed her lips and gestured at her lunch.

"Here, let's share." She suggested. Budo blushed and immediately shook his head.

"No! No, no! I couldn't... I mean, really! That's fine."

"No, I insist." She smiled warmly, "I made too much of it anyway, so it makes me happy to share a bit with you."

Budo felt his heart throb, that girl... Ayano Aishi, was truly a very nice person. He never recalled ever meeting a girl so demure, kind and refined in a long while. He fought back another blush as he nodded.

"You're truly a nice person, Aishi-san, but... I don't think I'll be able to eat without any chopsticks."

"Oh it's fine, you can use your hands, I don't mind."

"That'll be rude and unhygienic of me." He laughed nervously.

"Hm..." She thought for a moment, took with her chopsticks an egg roll and lifted it in front of Budo's face.

"Wha—"

"I'll feed you," she smiled, "open wide!"

"S-Such a thing..." He stuttered, cheeks as red as a cherry tomato. Ayano rolled her eyes, still smiling playfully.

"Nobody will see us anyway, so it should be alright, Masuta-senpai. So please, accept my offer, okay?"

Budo felt his heart rate accelerate as he slowly nodded, leaned closer and took a bite of the egg roll from Ayano's chopsticks, she giggled and he chewed slowly on his food.

He kept thinking that the scene was incredibly cheesy, but he somehow didn't care. It was true, Ayano Aishi looked like a plain, lonesome girl... But she had a certain charm that drew him nearer and nearer towards her. He didn't know if it was her pink, cherry lips, her dark eyes and hair, or the way her smiles played seductively on her face...

But one thing's for sure, he was starting to grow fond of her.

Even if, within the depths of Ayano's mind, charming him opened up countless doors and countless opportunities to get closer towards her senpai.

The fact that Budo possessed the same face made it all the more easier.

 **TBC.**

 **Okay, in my opinion? This chapter was boring. But I introduced a few characters that would have an impact on the story as well. I'll be sure to make the story go by quickly. Please review and tell me all what you think.**

 **As always, thank you**.


	3. Chapter 3

**EDIT: Fixed a hurricane of Typos and repetitions.  
Wow, I'm impressed with the reviews I'm getting on this story! You all made me go red, those little words of encouragement were enough to pressure me in writing another chapter quickly. Please keep this pace up!**

The Hero & The Psycho.

It was a rather calm, Thursday morning with nothing special going on about. Students were wandering around the corridors, chattering and laughing about anything and everything while teachers were discussing their classes' results. It was in mornings like these that Ayano found herself roaming around, looking for interesting things that might come of use soon enough. She had very little interest in socializing with anyone, only if strict necessary, for she hated losing some of her precious time talking to mere fools, who were obviously _not_ her senpai. In her eyes, Taro Yamada from class 3-2, was the only one worth her time and attention, and she intended to keep him ranked high on her imaginary podium.

Ayano kept looking around the halls for potential clubs and classes, she figured that it'd be the best time to join a club and engage in daily activities that might benefit her. Considering she wasn't the type to attract much attention, her reputation remained balanced and safe; allowing her to join any kind of club without too much difficulty. It was rather advantageous and convenient, or so to say…

She had a few thoughts and doubts regarding which club to join. She was only able to join one club at a time, so her decision had to be very important and final, she believed. Sure, it was possible to leave a club and join another, but her reputation would take a turn for the worse if it became a habit.

 _This is so annoyingly complicated… Stupid school with stupid students with their stupid morals and unspoken rules!_ She mentally cursed as she kept on journeying within the school. There was still plenty of time left before class would start so she didn't rush and remained visibly calm.

She had found herself approaching the infirmary without realizing it, and decided to take a small peek inside. Despite her rather unusual situation, Ayano was still in good terms with their school's nurse, a middle-aged woman who was both kind and wise. She figured it wouldn't hurt to say hello, considering that aunty did a lot to help her last year, when she was nothing but a mere, emotionless Junior.

Just as she was about to knock did she hear an unfamiliar feminine voice speak loudly and clumsily, making her halt on her tracks and rest her forehead on the door to listen.

"I-I'm so sorry! I was so sure that these were the right pills I—" the woman spoke, clearly frustrated and embarrassed. Ayano furrowed her brows, _this isn't aunty…_ She thought.

The other voice, however, surprised her beyond imagination.

"Please don't worry about it, miss." The boy said, his voice calm and gentle, "It's your first day as a substitute, so I understand how hard it is for you."

 _No way…_

"S-Senpai?" Ayano said out loud, her hands shaking.

She could hear the woman laugh cutely on the other side of the door.

"Oh, I'm still very sorry, I've lost my glasses this morning, you see, so I can't really differ which medicine is which, err…" there were sounds of empty boxes falling on the ground following by the rustling of papers. She heard her Senpai chuckle in amusement and the woman mumble endlessly.

"Ah! There it is, it's the right one, right… Right?!"

"Yes, that's the one."

"Ah, _Yokata!_ I thought I'd never find it," Ayano heard the sound of small heels clacking on the floor, possibly indicating that she was walking either towards her Senpai or her desk. She could feel her teeth grit in annoyance, feeling completely powerless while an unknown woman was familiarizing with her Senpai.

"Ah, it's rather thick so... It might be best if you swallow it with some water," the woman— _Substitute,_ Ayano corrected, was filling a glass with water, judging by the sound. Ayano thanked the heavens for being blessed with sensitive hearing, otherwise it wouldn't have been as easy to know what that evil woman was doing to her senpai.

"Thank you," she heard her senpai say, the woman giggled, walked towards him and then-

"AH!"

"WHOA!"

 _*Splash*_

… Ayano remained dangerously silent, trying with all her might to decipher what had just occurred in that mere second. She was able to hear faint breathing from her senpai and a rather small, painful groan from the woman's lips.

It all followed by a sharp gasp of horror.

"Oh no! What have I done, I… You're all wet!" She said, her voice panicking.

"It's fine, it's fine! No harm was done, I'll just go change into my gym clothes—" Taro spoke honestly. The woman stood up on her heels quickly and pushed him back on the seat.

"No! Wait here while I'll go get a tissue!" She dashed all around the infirmary and suddenly halted in front of Senpai. Ayano felt his breathing grow heavy with embarrassment.

 _What's going on… What is that slut doing to my senpai?!_

"U-Um…" He stuttered, his voice low. Ayano heard the sound of cloth wiping cloth, indicating that the substitute was trying to dry his wet uniform with some kind of handkerchief.

"I'm so sorry… The first day and I'm already making mistakes, I'm so lucky I ended up helping a nice person like you."

"I-It's okay, like I said… No harm was done…"

"Ahaha…"

 _What… What… What…_

And then, the world suddenly stopped on Ayano Aishi's feet. She wasn't capable of hearing, seeing, nor feeling. Her eyes had opened wide the moment she heard that woman's voice, her lips had become dry, and a lump had suddenly formed on her throat, making it difficult for her to swallow. Everything, all of her senses, were, in that very moment—Focused on the infirmary door. She could almost see very clearly, on the other side of those thick walls, the figure of her senpai, vulnerable next to a full grown woman who was shamelessly squatting in front of him, wiping his wet clothes provocatively.

Her palms began to sweat; she needed to feel some kind of weapon within her grasp, be it a blade or something else, she needed to calm herself, and _quickly._

As if on cue, the happy voice of Budo pierced through her conscience.

"Good morning, Aishi-san!" The martial arts master greeted with a smile on his face, said smile, however, disappeared the moment he saw his kouhai slouched next to the infirmary door. His brows furrowed almost instantly, with a new feeling of concern taking over.  
"Aishi-san?" He repeated himself, clearly worried, "Are you alright? Is something wrong?"

Ayano slowly lifted her head and stared at the upperclassman before her with dull eyes, "Good morning, Masuta-senpai." She straightened herself and took in a deep breath, "I'm okay, just a… just a small headache."

"Are… you sure? You seem kinda' down," he put a warm hand on her shoulder, making Ayano twitch suddenly, but only very slightly. Budo, however, noticed it and backed away, feeling like she needed some space.

"I'm really fine, senpai." She reassured him and attempted to fake a smile, like usual. "Like I said, it's nothing but a very small headache, it will pass soon, I'm sure of it."

Budo shook his head, "if you have a headache this early in the morning, it probably means that you're lacking sleep. I really hope that you're not pushing yourself too hard."

"No… No worries," she looked at the infirmary door, almost intensely, "I'm sure that it's just a _minor_ headache, nothing serious. I might just _get rid of it_ soon, with an aspirin or something…"

That weird moment of strange hostility made Budo quite skeptical, "well, um… Why don't you go to the infirmary, then? It might just cure your problem." He suggested hopefully. Ayano forced another smile.

"Yeah, it might just do the trick, but now's not a good time…"

"And why's that?"

Ayano merely shrugged, "You can see for yourself, I'm heading back to class. Take care, Masuta-senpai."

And just like that, she walked away, leaving a very dumbfounded Budo near the infirmary. The young third-year scratched the back of his head in confusion, wondering what she meant until the door opened, revealing Taro Yamada along with… God knows who.

"Oh, Budo, hey!" Taro greeted joyfully, "what brings you here?"

Budo wanted to mention Ayano, but avoided it. Taro wasn't really good with names, and he doubted he even knew the girl existed, so he merely waved it off and replied casually, "Just having a walk before class, what's up with you? Why are you in the infirmary this morning?"

"Ah, I forgot my medicine so I came to take some here." He gestured at the rather young, voluptuous nurse next to him with a smile, "Kurenai-san was kind enough to give me the last remaining pills for low blood pressure, she's the nurse's substitute, by the way."

The woman, -Kurenai- bowed politely in front of Budo, "how do you do?" she greeted.

"Hello," he greeted back and bowed as well, "thank you for taking care of us."

"I-It's a pleasure!" She immediately grinned and removed a strand of pink hair from her face; Budo analyzed her with his eyes and concluded that she was in her early twenties. She appeared to be a bit stronger than average women, judging by her slightly muscular physique, which was a good sign. It meant that she was capable of defending herself, more or less, and had some kind of training. He didn't have to worry about her safety like the other female teachers and students, so it allowed him to feel relieved.

Ever since those two murders at the school grounds, Budo had been on his guard the whole time. The fact that these students were both females didn't help, for he couldn't stand to see a woman hurt.

It was since then that Budo silently vowed to protect all the girls in the school, even if both the victims were coincidently girls, he still intended to remain loyal to his unspoken vow. It was his way of life, his inner promise, as both a caring brother and son.

His mind suddenly drifted back to Ayano, who had been acting rather strange a moment ago. He thought back when he first met her, drenched in the cold, heavy rain, how he saw her in nothing but a navy blue dress that clung to her curves provocatively.

He felt the heat rise in his cheeks and shook his head.

 _She's rather tall, for a girl her age, but she's still pretty frail._ He thought, _I'm worried about her, what if she goes late outside, like last time, and finds herself into trouble?! I'd never get over it._

The bell suddenly rang and interrupted his train of thoughts. Taro, who had been chatting enthusiastically with the substitute nurse, nudged Budo on the arm and smiled at him, "We better head back to class, or else the teacher would get mad!"

"Yeah, you're right," he nodded then looked at Kurenai, who smiled warmly.

"Please come to the infirmary if you ever need something," she informed him, "I'll be more than happy to help you all."

"Thank you very much," he quickly replied and turned to give Taro a teasing smirk, "Hey, Yamada, let's race back to class! The loser will have to volunteer for cleaning duty!" He informed him as he started running towards class 3-2. Taro grimaced inwardly at that.

"A normal guy like me against a martial artist like you?!" He nearly choked on his own saliva as he followed him, "No fair!"

Kurenai chuckled amusingly at the sight of the two running boys before heading back to work. She had a feeling that she would enjoy herself in Akademi-High.

Yes, very much so.

* * *

Lunch Break…

The substitute nurse, Akiko Kurenai, hummed cheerfully as she took out her lunchbox, it was her very first day in Akademi-High and she was in high spirits so far. She had been extremely glad to meet that kind third year, -Taro Yamada- first, before the others. She was told many times of teenagers' cruelty and hostility against young, female teachers, and found herself growing nervous real quick. She was also aware of the murder of two female students within the school grounds and came prepared. Akiko was confident in her physical capacities, so it never occurred to her that she might be in danger, actually, she came to Akademi-High in the sole purpose to help the students, seeking utility within her own person.

Considering most of the teachers in Akademi high school were women, she quickly managed to befriend them and feel more at ease. The previous high school she was hired in, had too many male teachers who looked at her as if she was raw meat, and it unsettled her to no end. Akiko was more than glad to see that, at least in Akademi-High, even the male students acted with respect, it was a good thing.

She had, however, started off terribly by splashing water on a third year involuntarily. If it weren't Taro, then god knows what would've happened, perhaps another male student would have tried to take advantage of her? Or… perhaps they would've begun some kind of punishment game?

"That's… ew…" She grimaced as she ate, "Akiko, you read waaay too many erotic novels, you should stop." She spoke to herself and looked outside the window, immediately spotting Taro Yamada, along with a few others, engaging in club activities. Her lips curved into a small smile at the sight, and she found herself blushing without realizing it.

"He's really cute… I hope I'd run into him again." She sighed dreamily.

"Who are you thinking about, sensei?" A cold, female voice cut through the air, startling her. Akiko looked around the room before finally noticing, in the darkest corner, a lone girl with black hair tied in a high ponytail. She breathed in, relieved it was only a student and spoke calmly.

"Hello there, young lady. Can I help you with anything?" She smiled and covered up her lunch, in an attempt to be polite. It was rather odd to have a visitor in the middle of lunchtime, but she really didn't want to question anybody. If a student wasn't feeling well, she was willing to help, no matter what the time.

Ayano smiled and nodded, "Why, yes… I'd love it if you could help me, you see…" She began to walk slowly towards Akiko's direction, hands behind her back, "I've been having a _terrible_ headache, it's been bothering me this whole time and I just wasn't capable of concentrating in class."

"Oh my!" Akiko exclaimed, "is the pain persistent?"

Ayano nodded vigorously, "Oh yes, very! In fact, it's one of the biggest headaches I had in a while… Which is odd, I've had a few, but none were this painful."

"This sounds serious, wait here, I'll see what I can find." She turned around and started rummaging through some drawers. Ayano took the opportunity to look around to find potentially harmful items, that substitute nurse was surprisingly strong in a physical aspect, she had analyzed her for a while the moment she entered the infirmary, and was moderately surprised. If she wanted to finish her off without having to be _too_ physical, then she had to equip herself with some kind of weapon or item that would do the trick.

She spotted in a nearby shelf some interesting chemicals and grinned, _just what I needed~_ She sang to herself mentally and tip toed towards them. She was rather thankful for her current height; otherwise she wouldn't have been able to reach the deadly bottles with such ease.

While Akiko kept on muttering and rummaging, Ayano opened the few bottles in hand and started sniffing them one by one, feeling a smirk creep on her face when she realized one bottle contained bleach.

 _Oh how incredibly foolish and convenient to have a bottle of bleach in an infirmary, perhaps kami-sama is in a good mood today, or I'm just really lucky._

As she slowly approached the substitute nurse, Ayano whispered in an almost teasing tone, "I think… Sensei, that I already found the solution to my problem."

"Eh? Really?!" She stood up and turned immediately, "and what is—"

"Surprise!" Ayano sang as she grabbed Akiko by the throat and slammed her head on the ground, making the nurse gasp at the sudden collision. The young teenage girl chuckled devilishly as she opened the bottle of bleach and started pouring its contents on Akiko's face, making her scream in agony. She wanted to last the entertainment but realized that she wouldn't have much time, which was _such_ a shame, considering that with her current items, she could've had _lots_ of fun! But oh well… There was that, and there was her appointment with a certain somebody, so she had to hurry and finish her job.

Ayano finished pouring the bleach's contents on the nurse's face and watched with fascination as it became gradually red. It was fully concentrated bleach, so naturally; her skin would burn the instant it made contact with it, and boy, was she _enjoying it!_

… But it wouldn't end her, no, it wasn't as easy as that. As Ayano kept on pouring the other set of chemicals on Akiko's slowly deteriorating face, she had a rather excellent idea that would most likely finish the job without much struggle. In a quick move, Ayano stood up, leaving the nurse rolling around on the ground in intense pain to take a nearby metallic stool. _The stool my beloved senpai sat on~_ she mentally added and slowly turned to glare at Akiko.

"You…" She spoke, her voice low, deadly and menacing, "You tried to seduce my senpai… You tried to _pollute_ him! And that… My dearest Kurenai-sensei, is a very _grave_ sin. Your punishment, of course, will be…" she slowly lifted the metallic stool and hissed, "DEATH."

And in mere moments, Akiko had been continuously crushed on the head with that particular stool, _the stool in which senpai sat on~_ Ayano mentally added once again.

After a few agonizing screams and the sound of her bone breaking open, Ayano concluded that Akiko was indeed, truly dead and no longer amongst the living. Feeling rather proud of herself, the teenage yandere wiped some sweat from her forehead and looked around the room to create the _perfect_ accident. She noticed the large shelf and came up with an idea. Steadily, Ayano grabbed the shelf and positioned it right on Akiko's broken head, making it appear as if it had _tragically_ fallen on her with all of its chemicals, hence explaining the burns and broken skull. She backed away, glanced around and looked at her crime scene.

"It's perfect," she smiled proudly, "considering she was a total klutz, having her look like she made the shelf fall on her head would seem plausible."

Ayano nodded, satisfied with her work. She then looked at her watch and realized that lunch break was nearly over. Cursing, the young teenager looked at her current uniform and noticed with outmost annoyance that it had some blood stains on it.

"Ugh, I better change fast…" She muttered and looked around the infirmary for some clothes, luckily, she found a gym outfit within a drawer and spent no time into changing, making sure to dispose of the stained uniform in the process.

She had just enough time to dash back into the class to grab her lunch and head outside.

* * *

Meanwhile, Budo had been sitting on the school's backyard whilst eating some bread, like usual. He had come in honest expectation to find Ayano, like the previous time, but had no such luck. It wasn't as though she ate her lunch every day at the same place, he thought, but a part of him truly wished she did, for he was unexpectedly lonely on lunch breaks. His disciples, all had friends of their own, while Taro Yamada simply spent his time eating with his fellow club pals.

All in all, he was a pretty affection-lacking guy, but he didn't mind.

He had just finished taking a last bite of bread until he heard the sounds of running footsteps coming towards his direction; he looked to his right and smiled broadly at the sight of Ayano coming quickly towards him, a smile illuminating her feminine features.

"Ah, you're here! What a great timing," she complimented and sat on the bench, next to him. Budo raised his eyebrows at her new state of dress.

"Hey, last time I checked you were wearing your uniform! Did something happen?" He asked with a small smile of his own. Ayano grinned and shrugged as she took out her lunchbox.

"I stained it, it wasn't appropriate so I decided to change into my gym clothes." She explained, "I hope I don't look weird."

Budo took the time to scrutinize her with his eyes and shook his head slowly, feeling captivated at the sight of her long, smooth and pale legs. He gulped and looked away, "No, I think you look fine, really."

"Ah, then I'm glad." She happily said and revealed her lunchbox, "Well! Time for our daily ritual!"

"Daily ritual?" Budo repeated, "What's that."

"Me sharing my lunch with you, of course!" She giggled and gestured at her lunch, just like the day prior to this one, Budo noticed that every ingredient had been doubled, almost like she made half of it for him only. It embarrassed him but in the meantime, he felt happy and special.

"I, uh… I really don't know what to say!" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I feel like I'm taking your time."

"Not really, in fact, I'm happy because I get to share my lunch with you, Masuta-senpai." She whispered, her eyes never leaving his. He could feel his cheeks go redder by the second.

"You… Do?"

Ayano nodded, "yeah, I think you're remarkable, senpai. It's always an honor to spend time with you."

"I'm flattered," he smiled boyishly and closed his eyes, "It's also nice to spend time with you, Aishi-san, you're really kind and sweet, and easy to get along with."

Ayano laughed, "well, if you say so!" she quickly took out her chopsticks and gave Budo his own, not feeling like repeating the same little scene of yesterday anymore. Budo thanked her and began to eat alongside her, feeling a new sensation crawl all over his body, a sensation that was terrifyingly warm and pleasant, a sensation that made him feel completely vulnerable next to this particular kouhai…

And then it struck him.

"By the way, Aishi-san…" He said whilst chewing on some salmon, Ayano turned to give him her full attention.

"Yes?"

"How's that headache of yours? Are you feeling better?" He asked, appearing seemingly worried. Ayano swallowed her remaining food and nodded with a smile.

"Oh yes, it's _completely_ gone. I managed to deal with it quite easily."

"That's good to hear!" He sighed in relief and resumed in eating the food, he suddenly moaned in pleasure, "Oh, Aishi-san! This food is _heavenly!_ You must've been some kind of cooking god in your past life!"

"You flatter me, Masuta-senpai." She laughed and waved it off, "But I'm not that great."

"No, you're seriously talented! Oh man, I don't remember eating something this good in a while!"

Ayano giggled at the sight of a hamster-faced Budo eating all his food in large bites, she then suggested with an amused smile; "why don't I make you lunch from now on? If you like it that much…"

He looked at her with disbelieving eyes.

"You'd… Do dwat fwor meh?" He said, his mouth full. Ayano nodded enthusiastically.

"Yup, with great pleasure."

"Aishi-san…" Budo whispered, feeling moved beyond compare, "I feel indebted to you… If there's anything you need, just name it, and I'll be sure to help the best way I can!"

"Well…" She rested her index finger on her chin as she thought, "now that you mention it, I'm kind of in need of assistance…" She then mischievously smiled at him, "it's something that requires a lot of work, so I hope you're prepared…"

Budo snorted.

"I'm always prepared."

 _We'll see about that._

 **TBC.**

 **Chapters will become more interesting as the story progresses, I promise! I also want to develop Budo's character more, so I'll try my best in his behalf as well. Again, I'll cheekily ask of you guys to leave a review, because I'm in need of support!**

 **Thank you in advance, and praise the almighty YandereDev for making this great game!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**And here we are with another chapter! I'll try to keep the steady '3 days update' pace and reward you all with action and drama-filled chapters. But considering this fic still has a long way to go before reaching a satisfying point, I'll try to minimize all the adrenaline for now... I'm thinking of making it about 15 chapters long, or perhaps more, depending on the support I'm getting, anyways, that's not important, please enjoy and remember to review for me!  
**

The Hero & The Psycho.

"One, two! One, two!" Was what Budo Masuta continuously repeated as he performed his night jog within the neighbourhood. It had become some sort of pleasant routine to him, a way to relieve himself from continuous stress and pressure all the while training and having fun. Budo wasn't difficult to understand, but he wasn't simple-minded either, in fact; he was quite the complex young adult, having many secrets and ambitions of his own. Though his own family thought him an idiot, he honestly didn't mind, because it made him feel rather safe in his own way.

His mother had suffered a lot throughout the years and he truly hated himself for not being competent enough. His father had died at a young age, leaving his wife and children without much to live on, the money he had left barely managed to pay the house's living expenses, obliging the eldest daughter and son to take jobs as teens. It was a necessary sacrifice, there was nothing they could have done, so they simply decided to cope with what they were given and start to work.

Budo had never been fussy, and he didn't want to start being fussy anytime soon. It was because of his hard work and motivation that they were living comfortably now, much to their happiness. The mornings and afternoons, he'd spend them at school, while the evenings were solemnly dedicated to his part time job. Of course, there was the sole exception of the weekends, where he had to work full-time, but it wasn't all that problematic, considering they paid him well there.

The only moment of peace he had, was in night time. It was sacred, calm, and unbelievably relaxing to him. He was able to be himself without having to worry about other people, about his family and friends; he was fully capable of practicing martial arts like the good old times, when his father was still alive and well. For Budo, the night was bright, though not literally; it still shone and illuminated his senses, his conscience, and brought back his calm demeanor.

Budo stopped the moment he saw a vending machine and tried to compose himself. He breathed long and hard, panted for air and stretched until he was sure that his body functioned normally again. As he searched the inside of his pockets for coins, he began to think about ways to arrange his busy schedule. He didn't have much time to help out his disciples lately, and the martial arts club was going downhill quickly.

He inserted a few coins and picked a simple bottle of water to quench his thirst. As he drank the bottle with vigor, he felt the phone inside his pocket vibrate repeatedly. Curious, Budo took it and realized that his big sister, Shizuka, was calling him.

He answered immediately.

"Hey sis, need anything?" He spoke calmly, the girl on the other side of the line was shouting at what appeared to be a big mess. He thought he'd heard someone giggle but brushed that aside and focused on what Shizuka was saying.

"H-Hey, Budo? You still far from home?" She asked, Budo wiped some sweat off of his forehead and nodded whilst replying.

"Yeah, but not by much. Just a few couple of blocks and I'll be in our neighbourhood."

"Ah, then I assume you're close to the convenience store? If so, I'd like for you to buy a couple of things for—HEY!" she shouted suddenly, making Budo back the phone from his ear in displeasure, "Don't touch that! Wai—STOP!" There were sounds of struggle and a very familiar shriek, Budo immediately recognized the voices of his twin sisters, Kaoru and Kaori, both running around and doing trouble. He sighed with a smile on his face, amazed on how patient he became throughout the years.

"Hello? Shizuka? I can't really buy anything if I don't know what you need." He sang teasingly, Shizuka groaned on the other side of the line.

"Ugh, like I said, I need you to buy some more sugar; we're out of it... Oh! And butter, now that I think about it, about two packs, alright? Mom says she needs a good amount for Hikari's birthday cake." She spoke quickly, Budo nodded and made sounds of confirmation.

"Anything else?" He thought he'd ask, in case she forgot something. Shizuka thought for a moment then asked the twins.

"Do you guys need anything?"

"Chocolate!" Kaoru beamed.

"Candy!" Kaori squealed.

Budo laughed at the sound of his sisters eagerly trying to pry the phone away from the eldest daughter, enjoying the small moment of fun he was having with all of them, even if it was on a phone. Shizuka scolded them both a final time before sighing, Budo could almost picture her roll her eyes, it was her signature little effect in those kinds of situations.

"You heard them, hope we aren't bothering you, by the way." She sounded concerned, Budo chuckled and shook his head.

"No, not at all! In fact, I'm happy to be of service, plus, it's awfully calm this time around, where's the rest of the bunch?"

"Kanna and Shizuru are watching TV while Hikari's studying in your room," she pondered for a second before asking, "you don't mind, do you?"

"Nah, that's fine, let her. I'll come help her out with a bit of homework when I'm back, tell her to wait for me, okay?" He looked around and spotted the nearby convenience store easily. "So, sugar, two packs of butter, chocolate and candy, is that right?"

"Yeah, again, sorry for bothering you. Also, don't you dare come back late! I heard it's dangerous out there nowadays, no matter how strong you are, you can never be too careful..."

Budo snorted, "Seriously, you start to sound more and more like mom with each, passing day! Stop being a worrywart, Shizu, I'll be sure to come back before ten, I promise."

"Okay then, take care." Shizuka said, suddenly sounding very tired.

"Bye," he softly spoke before hanging up, feeling his heart grow lighter after hearing the cheerful voices of his sisters. Without realizing it, he was smiling, smiling brightly at the sensations he felt deep within his heart.

 _I'm so glad I have them by my side,_ he thought in amazement, _to think we managed to stay so close after all that bull crap..._

The young martial artist took off his jacket, suddenly feeling extremely hot from all the running. They were still in the neighbouring gates of spring, so it was pretty chilly outside. Budo, however, wasn't sensitive to the cold and paid no mind in exposing his rather lean muscles. He had settled with a black tank top that clung tightly to his muscular torso and some track pants that were about the same color, he figured a mildly thick Jacket would do the trick in protecting him from the freezing weather, and he was correct. Though, that was only if he truly did mind the cold, which wasn't the case.

Budo swayed his jacket on his shoulder and walked towards the convenience store, repeating inwardly of what he was supposed to buy. If he missed something, then he had to be prepared to face not only a very irritated Shizuka, but also an extremely angry mother. That thought alone made him shudder in outmost fear, therefore, he had to be quick in returning home with _every single grocery_ he'd been asked to get.

A middle-aged man welcomed him the moment he stepped foot within the store, Budo politely greeted him and searched for his groceries. It wasn't that big of a convenience store, in fact, it was rather small, but it had anything one could ask for.

All the while picking what he needed, Budo paid a bit of his attention towards the small TV on the counter, near the man/cashier. It was being kept on some kind of sports channel, he figured out, and it managed to distract him rather well. Budo wasn't that big of a sports fan, all he truly cared about were martial arts tournaments and other things. True, martial arts were considered some kind of sport with its own category, but it was still a lot different compared to football, soccer, tennis and so on. It was some sort of controversy, almost as if they had shoved Buddha's face in Santa Claus's factory. Japanese were mostly Buddhists, and yet they celebrated Christmas, they included it within the national holidays while it was clearly foreign.

Same went for martial arts, he figured. It was, as its own name said, an _art,_ and yet they had gone and deliberately called it a sport.

Budo snorted as he thought about that, it was a philosophic point of view that haven't been studied on, so he wasn't one to judge that particular way of thought. He loved to train, he loved to learn new moves and teach his disciples, he enjoyed all of it, so why did he have to care now? He didn't, and he most definitely wouldn't.

As he continued browsing for some things, he thought he'd heard the middle-aged cashier curse loudly and the TV announcing some sort of important news, making Budo roll his eyes.

 _"We're sorry for interrupting this program; we've received alarming news concerning Akademi High-School—"_

"Huh?" Budo quickly turned his head at the mention of his school; he suddenly dashed towards the counter and poked the man on his arm, "Hey, uncle? Could you please turn the volume up? That's my high-school they're talking about."

The cashier raised a curious eyebrow before doing as he was told, allowing the teenager to hear with more clarity what the reporter was saying.

 _"—23 year-old Akiko Kurenai, has been found dead in the school's infirmary. The young nurse had just started her first day in Akademi-High that particular morning, she had, sadly, not lasted long. Police are investigating this abnormal tragedy, for it seems that it being only but an 'accident', doesn't, and I quote, 'feel original'. Could it be that Akiko Kurenai is, in fact, the third victim of Akademi-High? That's a possibility, as the deaths of those three individuals are all female..."_

Budo couldn't believe his ears, the nurse he had met this very morning... Alongside Taro Yamada, was dead? Akiko Kurenai had perished?

"No way..." Budo breathed in, feeling suddenly extremely nauseous. He thought that perhaps, they were wrong, perhaps they had found another person and mistook it for her...

But all these hopes were crushed the moment Akiko's smiling picture appeared on the screen, confirming his fears.

"Well damn, that's a pretty hot young woman you guys had there..." The cashier whistled before pulling out a cigarette, "A shame she died so soon, betcha' you were all lustin' after her."

Budo, not being in the mood for such lewd and inappropriate jokes, slammed the groceries he needed on the counter whilst startling the middle-aged man in the process. The teen glared rather obviously at him, not wanting to waste any time.

"Put them in a single bag, please." He said, his voice low and angry. The cashier muttered a few things about how kids these days were so poorly educated, but Budo just didn't want to listen.

He had, yet again, failed to protect an innocent woman.

* * *

The next day...

Budo decided to come to school extra early for his club activities. Considering he had very little time in the evening due to his part-time job, he had to oblige with waking up an hour earlier than usual. At 7 AM, only few of the students entered the school's gates. They were mainly students who, like him, engaged in club activities. Others liked to have their mornings unbothered until a rather specific hour, while the rest were far too eager to meet their friends, and so decided to wake up earlier to spend more time with them.

Relatively speaking, Budo was still very popular amongst students; he just didn't want to stand out too much. Though he was clearly well known for his strength, people avoided him still in fear of ever getting caught in his wrath.

It was rather stupid, he thought.

Putting those tormenting thoughts aside, Budo rushed towards his club room and immediately wore his training outfit, getting ready to train like every morning. He kicked and punched in the air, moving fluently whilst concentrating on his moves. His disciples still weren't there, but it didn't stop him from wanting to grow stronger and stronger. Yesterday, he had been completely foolish to allow Akiko Kurenai's death. True, it was still classified as an 'accident' from both the media and court, but he couldn't help but smell something fishy going on. Heck, even the police felt suspicious after the other two murders at the school grounds, he wasn't the only one who was on his guard, reassuringly.

As if on cue, his disciples began to enter the club room one by one, they weren't much, but he still felt some kind of pride in teaching them. The first one to volunteer in sparring with him was none other than Juku Ren, one of his newest disciples, and possibly the one with the least experience. Budo wanted to roll his eyes knowing full-well that he still needed intense training before actually sparring with his master, but he didn't really have a say in that...

They sparred and sparred until most of his disciples were too tired to continue. Budo won every sparring match without a bit of difficultly, he, however, still enjoyed spending time with his disciples, even if it was through fighting.

"Shishou!" A voice suddenly shouted near the door, Budo turned and noticed Sho Kunin calling, with Ayano waiting patiently next to him.

Budo felt his spirits rise up at the sight of her smiling so sweetly at him. Without wasting any time, the martial arts master excused himself and approached Sho, who pointed at Ayano.

"Your kouhai wishes to speak to you, Shishou... She says it's important," he informed him. Budo nodded, giving him a friendly pat of appreciation.

"Thanks, I'll be right back." He said, then walked towards Ayano, who had put both her hands on her hips. Budo felt the heat rise on his cheeks as he tried to speak nonchalantly, "What?"

She gave him a rather mischievous smile, "You're quite the early bird, aren't you?" It was supposed to be a compliment, but Budo felt it more like some kind of teasing remark. He smiled and shrugged at that, it was nice to talk to her so early in the morning.

"What kind of shishou am I if I don't wake up before my disciples? Anyway, you need me for something?" He hated to, but he had to go straight to the point, it was necessary for him to resume his training before class. Ayano raised an eyebrow before taking out of her pocket a small piece of paper and handed it to him. Budo looked at it and realized it was a phone number, he gave her a confused look before asking.

"What's this?"

Ayano laughed, "What do you mean, 'what's this'? That's my phone number," she stated the obvious. Budo nearly choked on his own saliva.

"Your... Phone number," it was more of a statement than a question, Ayano nodded, smiling.

"Yes, my phone number." She said, she then gave him a suspicious look, "You... You remember what I told you yesterday, don't you?"

"Um, the thing about cleaning duty?" He remembered vaguely, at that time, he was far too preoccupied with eating Ayano's delicious home-made cooking, so his mind was fuzzy. But now that she mentioned it, yeah, she truly did ask him for help on cleaning duty.

Ayano nodded as she tried to come up with a proper explanation, "Yeah, you see... That favour I wanted to ask of you, was to help me with cleaning duty. I'm pretty much all alone for this semester, save for two or three lazy bums, I thought you might help me throw one or two things in the incinerator every two days. Is that possible?"

 _She looks just like a puppy..._ Budo thought as he stared deep within her big, dark grey eyes. The way she had put both hands behind her back, the way she swayed left to right with those small, thick lips curled into a smile... It was all too cute for him to bear.

How could he refuse? Besides, he already promised to help her, and a plus; she was making him lunch, he was indebted to her.

He had no right to refuse.

Budo had, unconsciously, started ruffling her hair, a deep blush on his cheeks. He felt like he truly needed to protect her, she was his lovely kouhai, no way in hell was he going to say no!

"Of course it's possible, it's not even considered a problem!" He said with a grin, actually, it was a problem... He had a part time job once school was over, so he was capable of running late and...

Oh, what the hell?! He didn't care! It was for Ayano Aishi! Everything's fine when it's for her.

Hearing his answer, Ayano smiled widely and gave his free hand a loving squeeze, "Oh, thank you so much, Masuta-Senpai! I'll be sure to inform you of the... Um, _trash_ that you must take care of after class through texts. Also..." she squeezed his hand a bit tighter, ignoring his red cheeks, "you might, um... Feel like the trash's a bit too heavy and weird, but... It's only normal."

"Heavy and weird?" Budo repeated, trying to calm his beating heart. Ayano nodded.

"Yeah, long and... squishy too..." She looked away, "But that's normal, considering I'm an active student in chemistry class!"

"Ah...?" He wanted to ask what it had to do with chemistry class, but brushed that thought aside. All he had to do was throw some trash in the incinerator during the first period of lunch time, and after class, right? It wasn't hard, he just had to actively read her texts and take care of what was left for him, he had been willing to help, after all.

Plus, the incinerator was located near the delinquents hanging spot, he didn't want Ayano to stumble upon them and find herself into trouble...

"Alright, understood." He smiled and ruffled her hair again, making her shut her eyes tightly, "We'll meet at lunch time, like always, yeah?"

"Mmm-hmm!" She grinned and gave his hand a last, gentle squeeze before walking away, "Well, then, see you at lunch break!"

"Yup, see ya!" He waved and she dashed back to her class. Just as she was out of sight, Budo allowed a small, happy sigh escape his lips before entering the club room. Just as he did so, did he notice the many smug looks his disciples threw at him.

He glared at all of them, "What are you all looking at? Train!" he ordered. They laughed and whispered between each other, saying how 'lucky their shishou is to have such a cute, considerate kouhai tag along'.

Budo ignored them and proceeded to train a bit before class.

A girl within the club, however, wasn't quite happy to have noticed Budo with that kouhai.

* * *

During Lunch Break, Budo had checked his phone and noticed with surprise that Ayano had already obtained his phone number. He remembered that she gave him hers, and not the other way around, but it didn't matter. As the teen browsed within his messages, he found a new one, written by Ayano herself.

 ** _Heya, Masuta-Senpai! How are you? owo! Gotcha' phone number from a disciple, hope you don't mind!  
Just wanted to say that before coming to eat lunch in the school's backyard, there's this really HUUUGE trash can near class 2-1 ;A; ... It's too heavy for me, could you dump the bag and everything in the incinerator in my stead? I'd owe you a big one! Thanks in advance! ^0^/_**

"What the... That's so cute," he laughed as he noticed all the weird emojis Ayano sent him. He closed his cell phone and headed towards class 2-1, where he easily spotted the 'huge trash can' Ayano was talking about. Budo rubbed his hands and took it with ease; he was known as the strongest boy in Akademi-high, after all...

He quickly jogged outside, every once in a while spouting "excuse me!" or "coming through!" to the students. Eventually, he found the incinerator as well as the delinquents squatting around it. Budo rolled his eyes and walked calmly, realizing who it was, the delinquents all quickly averted eye-contact and made sure not to get on his way. Well, what do you know? Even delinquents had some ounce of respect.

Budo did as he was told and dumped everything in the incinerator, the trash had been wrapped in a black bag that made it impossible to decipher what it contained, but he didn't care. He assumed that it was damaged material or something similar, Ayano did mention being an active chemistry student...

Shrugging, Budo started the incinerator and went to wash his hands, once that was done, he ran back towards his and Ayano's little spot in the school's backyard.

He saw her smile, and he smiled back. Ayano gave him his side of her lunch box and they ate while talking about a few things. At a certain point, Budo asked her about Akiko's death, thinking that Ayano might've heard. She, however, looked extremely surprised to hear that, therefore he concluded that she wasn't aware of it.

"Oh my god..." She whispered with her hand covering her mouth, "that's awful! Isn't it the third death in this school?"

"Yeah..." he sighed and looked at the cherry blossom tree on top of the hill, "I met her yesterday morning, right after you left. She looked nice and sweet; I can't help but feel... Surprised at how soon it happened..."

"But, senpai..." she gave him a small glance, "didn't they say it was an accident?"

"They did," he scratched his chin and took a bite of fried shrimp, "but honestly, I can't help but feel like something's off."

Ayano remained quiet and silently observed Budo, was he suspicious? If that was the case, then it was bad, really bad. She couldn't afford to have him act suspicious; it would destroy everything she had built up until now.

It was already good enough that Budo disposed of... _them_ without him knowing, if he actually started to suspect unusual activity within the school, she'd be... Dare she say, doomed? Yeah, she would definitely be doomed, considering she was dealing with a martial arts master, bloody hell!

Suddenly, an idea came to her mind, and Ayano stood up, surprising Budo.

"What's wrong?" he asked, startled at her suddenly going to sit on his left. She merely smiled and whispered in his ear, making him shudder.

"You're too tense, Masuta-Senpai..." she said as she drew nearer, her hands unbuttoning his jacket from behind, Budo gasped, his heart beating at an insane speed. He didn't do something to move or push her hands away, though.

"Wh-What are you doing?! Aishi-San!" He felt flustered beyond compare, Ayano chuckled and whispered again.

"Oh, calm down senpai! I'm just trying to help you relax a bit, you've been training so hard these past few days, even I've grown tired just by looking at you." She had a certain seductive aura around her, making Budo remain still. His cheeks had grown to be extremely red, he'd never been so close to a girl before so he never knew how to interact. He had no choice but to oblige and allow her to do as she pleased, for he admittedly, didn't mind as long as it was her, Ayano Aishi.

She had finished unbuttoning his jacket and slipped it off from his shoulders. Budo felt a small chill from being suddenly exposed in his simple, uniform white shirt, but he didn't mind as much. As Ayano grew closer and closer, he managed to feel her body heat from his back, same went for her slow and steady breathing that tickled his ear.

Suddenly, she rested her hands on his broad shoulders, surprising him.

 _Are girls' hands ever this soft?_ He thought as he closed his eyes in bliss. Ayano's hands... They weren't small like the other girls, but they weren't big either, they were... How could he put this? _Just right._ He didn't know how or why, but they felt right. He felt them when she had squeezed his hand in an affectionate way, back near the club room, he also noticed how long and thin her fingers were, and found himself being mesmerized by them.

It was true, they were beautiful hands, soft even, a refined girl's hands. And he found himself enjoying the feel of them on his shoulders. He suddenly wondered if it would have felt better if it weren't for the thin fabric of his shirt, but shrugged it off, he didn't need to know, all he wanted, was to enjoy.

Ayano suddenly started massaging his shoulders, gently and carefully. She'd be lying if she said she didn't admire the way the muscles in his back reacted to her touch, or how strong and broad he looked from behind, but then again... He was a martial arts master, it was normal. Ayano hated to compliment other men, for it was a sign of infidelity towards _her_ senpai, Taro Yamada. In the meantime, it was necessary, necessary to avoid suspicion and to gain an important ally. Of course, he would never be aware, but he'd be loyal. All she had to do... Was make him fall for her, and her mission would be accomplished.

 _I can never be too grateful for reading shoujo and erotic manga,_ she smiled to herself and continued massaging him. Budo bit his lip at the weird, fuzzy sensations Ayano was giving him and tried to think of something else, desperately. If it continued like that, he wouldn't be able to control himself, he was sure.

But damn, she was so _good!_ He was sure that in that very moment, if lightning electrocuted and killed him, he'd still be happy. Those hands on his shoulders were the gentlest touch he ever felt in his entire life.

"A-Ah..." he bit his lip again, cursing inwardly for letting that small moan escape his lips. The last thing he wanted was for Ayano to call him a creep or a pervert, he expected her to stop the moment she heard-

But she didn't, she gentled her touch even more.

"How are you feeling?" She whispered again, Budo hesitated to answer, in fear of saying something weird, but he did anyway.

"Amazing..." he spoke the honest truth, making Ayano giggle.

"I'm glad, as long as Masuta-Senpai feels this way... I'm happy..."

Budo felt her head rest on his back and her hands move from his shoulders. She then suddenly wrapped her arms around his waist, startling him.

His heart was about to explode.

"Masuta-Senpai..." she whispered softly, in the smallest, most feminine voice he ever heard. He gulped, not knowing what to do.

"A-Aishi...San...?"

Ayano felt her lips curl into a smirk the moment she whispered those three, simple words.

"I love you."

 **TBC.**

 **Okay, this chapter was slow in its own way, but guess what? Kokona makes an appearance in the next one! Yay for gore and action! I hope you all will leave a review, and sorry if this update was a bit late, considering I did promise to update every 3 days... But what? A few hours more wouldn't hurt, right?**

 **Please review! I'll be sure to fix some mistakes if I find some**.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, this chapter's quite short, in my opinion… But I can't help it.  
Life happened, and suddenly I found myself trapped in difficult situations, I hope you can forgive me.**

 **Regardless, please enjoy this chapter.**

The Hero & The Psycho.

"I love you."

Time had stopped in that very moment, suddenly and incomprehensibly. The bell had rung some time ago, yet both of them didn't budge an inch, almost as if they had been bound by an invisible rope.

They had been tied together by her very own words, by that small confession that had rolled so perfectly on her tongue. Waves of emotion flew deep within Budo, and he had no clue… No clue at all in how to respond to this girl, whom he had grown so fond of. He wasn't even sure if he _could_ respond; she had frozen him in place without mercy, caught him off-guard completely and wrapped her arms so lovingly around his masculine waist in an attempt to never let go. How in heaven's name was he supposed to utter a coherent sentence with her conquering his whole mind?!

Budo wanted to either turn around and hug her senseless… Or simply dash and run shouting in joy, both were rather accurate and representative options of his feelings, but he held a softer spot for the former.

He truly did want to hold her, but she had trapped him in an embrace herself… Heck, the fact that she was tightening her hold around his waist made him feel with great precision her rather _soft_ features, and it wasn't doing him good.

Budo mustered all of his courage to actually _inhale_ and speak, "Aishi…" he whispered, dropping the honorifics for once, "I… Um… Y-You…"

Ayano twitched before suddenly letting him go, "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have spoken those words so soon and I…" she backed away and covered her face with both hands, "Oh… Bummer… How embarrassing! Stupid, stupid, stupid heart!"

"A-Aishi…?" Confusion apparent in his tone, Budo turned around in an attempt to actually take a glimpse of her face. She had stubbornly faced the other way whilst tugging at her collar, a sign that she was growing hot and needed some air. He noticed how red her ears were and held back a small smile, she truly was an adorable kouhai, why was she so nervous when she had already conquered his heart in merely a week?

Seeing how flustered she was, Budo managed to gain an ounce of bravado.

"Ayano," he spoke her first name so casually that it surprised her, "won't you look at me?"

She shook her head, "No, I'm sure I look horrible right now."

"Well I'm sure that you look cute right now," he retorted while patting her on the head, "Any guy would think so after being confessed to."

There wasn't much room for arguments when it involved Budo Masuta, even she knew as much. With a heavy and trembling voice, Ayano muttered a small 'okay' before turning around to face him. She was absolutely sure that those late-night reading sessions helped in gaining a few points in her acting, it was miraculous how she managed to actually _willingly cry_ so fast. But then again, everything was possible as long as it involved her beloved senpai, Taro Yamada.

While blinking a few tears away, Ayano stared deep within Budo's grey orbs. They were exactly the same shade of grey as hers, somewhat lighter than most students, but definitely fiercer and more intimidating. Delinquents were scared shitless of him, he was a martial arts master, for crying out loud! Any sane person wouldn't want to piss him off, especially one that wasn't good friends with his so called 'justice'. With Ayano being borderline evil, things looked extremely difficult since Budo was Taro's best friend, any suspicious activity would damage her reputation if it involved him, including her beloved Taro. Her plan to simply befriend him had made things come into a new light, and now… She had an even better plan; one that would gave her advantageous opportunities, much to her convenience.

She wanted to _seduce_ him, make him her very own plaything for her senpai game. He didn't have to know, and he never will, actually. It was pretty strategic and cruel of her, but everything was permitted in the playground.

And oh… How she wanted to tease the guy… Having her senpai's face made it so much fun for her and a hell lot easier. She hated to admit, but she was enjoying herself so far.

 _A lot._

Budo had been surprised to see tears threatening to pour out of her eyes, was she afraid of him rejecting her? Was she embarrassed, nervous or uncomfortable? That was bad… Budo was _terrible_ at handling a crying girl, being a big brother himself, he had come across countless of situations where his sisters cried over unbelievable matters. One would have thought that he'd become somewhat experienced in that domain, but it was quite the contrary. Years of trying to figure out the reason behind his sisters' tears resulted in him developing a trauma; witnessing a girl about to cry.

No way in hell was he going to sit and watch!

Without thinking twice, Budo wrapped his arms around her in a warm, bear hug. It was one of his reflexes whenever Kanna or Shizuru would cry, he'd hug them _onii-chan style_ and hush them gently. It usually worked after a while, but the effect never succeeded most of the time, much to his horror. If Ayano cried in front of him like that, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to take it.

No… He definitely wouldn't be able to take it.

"Oh god, don't cry! I can't stand it when I see a girl cry," he gently rubbed her back in consolation while attempting to calm her, "I'm here for you, and I always will be."

"Oh Masuta-senpai, I'm not crying because I'm sad or anything of the sort…" She laughed and accepted his hug, "I'm crying because I've been bottling up these feelings for a while now…"

"Y-You have?" He was quite surprised to hear that. Ayano nodded shyly and pushed him gently away to have a proper look of his reaction.

"Yes, actually I… I've been admiring you from afar," she tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear while looking at the bright blue sky, "Last year, when I was but a mere junior, I fell in love with you senpai… At first sight."

Budo felt his mouth go dry; _she fell in love with me at first sight? Last year too, when I didn't even know she existed!_

As if she had read his mind, Ayano smiled and chuckled dismissively; "I wasn't picky, just a mere glimpse of you made me happy so… I never really hoped to actually date you or anything. You were always so upbeat, so energetic and friendly, it brightened my days all together. It's true that I wanted to talk to you, once or twice, or perhaps even more! But…" She twirled her thumbs in nervousness, "I… Always got so shy…"

The wind blew her hair and Budo could've sworn he saw the whole scene in slow motion, was there anything more beautiful than a girl confessing her love? He didn't know… He had never been confessed to before, girls always called him 'scary' or thought him too big, and yet he never complained. He was sure, however, that even if a girl did confess her feelings towards him, she would never be as beautiful as Ayano Aishi.

And he wasn't exaggerating.

The way she had spoken her honest thoughts and emotions had made his heart beat at insane levels, even five hours of intense training didn't match her confession in those terms, it was unbelievable.

Budo had barely realized that she was actually smiling at him, smiling ever so brightly.

"… So, that fateful Sunday night… When you found me, drenched in the rain, I thought that it was a sign, a sign for me to finally grow a backbone and talk to you."

She leaned closer and grabbed both of his hands.

"I knew— _know_ that I'll never stand a chance, with you being so bright and me so gloomy, how could I? I've never been selfish in my entire life, so I thought it might be okay to start now… But, senpai… Oh senpai…"

She had directed his hand towards her heart, where he felt it beat quickly and rhythmically. Budo gulped, feeling the heat rise once again on his sensitive face, he was pretty sure that his cheeks were red, but it mattered not.

"I just can't help it… I'm sorry if my feelings are a burden, I'm sorry if it was all too sudden… I'd understand if you refuse those bothersome emotions, so…"

"No." He finally said while moving his free hand to cup her cheek, "Those feelings of yours, I won't refuse them."

"Huh…?" Ayano looked at him with both hope and confusion written over her face, Budo felt his lips curve into a smile at the sight of her appearing so dumbfounded, she truly was an adorable kouhai.

"What I mean to say is, I love you too; Ayano Aishi."

Realizing what he just uttered, Budo immediately corrected himself.

"Ah! I mean that… Well, I… Even if _I_ just met you a week ago, I… Grew fond of you, and you're cute so…"

 _Damn it! Stupid brain! Try to come up with an acceptable answer!_

He was pondering in what to say until Ayano suddenly giggled in amusement, making the atmosphere lighter. Seeing that, Budo smiled in relief and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, he never had a way with words.

"You're so honest, senpai! I guess it's one of the qualities that I love about you." She gave him a look that yelled 'adoration' all over before giving him a quick, wet kiss on the cheek.

Budo had been, yet again, frozen on the spot.

"The bell rang about ten minutes ago, Senpai, we should head to class or we'll get scolded."

 _Going to class after ten minutes of being late would definitely get us scolded, but I don't give a shit anymore!_ He thought in amazement. Did she just…? That moist _chu_ he felt on his cheek…

Without giving him enough time to think, Ayano suddenly stood up to clean herself and grab her lunchbox. Seeing as Budo didn't finish his part of the meal, Ayano took from her small bag a smaller lunchbox and neatly put the contents of the bigger one in it. With a smile, the young girl handed him over what she had spent the entire morning working on.

"Here you go, Masuta-senpai." She whispered sweetly, Budo mentally smacked himself back to reality as he grabbed the smaller lunchbox. He still hadn't been able to utter a coherent sentence after feeling her soft lips on his cheek… He probably wouldn't forget that feeling anytime soon either.

As quickly as it happened, Ayano blushed, excused herself and left quickly, leaving a confused Budo, painfully slack-jawed and most definitely _in love.  
_

* * *

A while later…

Going back to class was a pain in the ass for Ayano, she had lost too much of her precious time fooling around with the martial artist; Budo Masuta. If it weren't for that sorry excuse of a man, she wouldn't have been out mopping the corridors as a punishment. It was just her luck that their math teacher, Satozuka Bara; was a strict big-breasted goody-two-shoes who _loved_ to make her life a living hell.

Ayano sighed as she continued mopping the floor, she was faintly aware of a presence not so far from her, but she didn't pay much attention to it. If she was quick to finish, she might be allowed to attend class before the hour's end, hopefully.

While making a turn (and still mopping), Ayano came face to face with a green-haired girl. Said girl had been so busy texting on her phone that she barely noticed the black-haired sophomore, hence resulting in both of them crashing together.

Ayano quickly got back to her feet and helped the girl by handing her a hand, "Are you alright?" she asked calmly. The girl nodded with a weak smile, Ayano could've sworn that she saw her face somewhere…

"Yeah, doing mighty fine! Sorry for crashing on you like that, I should've watched where I was going but I was _soo_ busy with this e-mail so I kind of' got too into it and—Oh, are you Aishi from class 2-1?"

Ayano blinked a few times, _she sure talks fast…_ "Yes, that's me. And you are…?"

"Midori Gurin, class 1-1. Age 16, active and always excited!" She shook her hand vigorously before blushing a deep crimson, "Ah! But I don't mean excited in _that_ way! I meant it in the hype way, so please don't mistake me for a pervy, hormonal teenage girl or anything like that! True, I play eroge sometimes but I try to minimize the time and—"

 _Blablablabla… When does she ever stop talking?_ Ayano thought in annoyance. She squeezed the girl's hands gently in order to calm her down a bit, it appeared to have worked and the girl grinned sheepishly. After taking a quick peek behind Midori, Ayano noticed that she had also been mopping the floor on the third corridor.

"You've been late to class too, Gurin-san?" She asked as she picked up her own mop. The green-haired hyper teenager nodded with eager and did the same.

"Yeah, been too busy writing e-mails to game developers. I'm not a patient gal, you see? So I always want to know more about how the game progresses and since _nobody_ answers my questions in forums I grow impatient and send e-mails directly to the guys behind whatever project/game! But they never really answer me too, so I practice in my writing and try to make my e-mails as polite and as long as possible! Look, look! I've been writing this since last night!" She had eagerly shoved her phone right in front of Ayano's face, who looked in sheer horror at the 31 page long e-mail. She gave Midori a skeptical look whilst trying to sound as gentle as possible.

"Gurin-san, I don't think that e-mails should be this long, especially if you send them to busy game developers…"

Midori's face, which was hopeful a mere second ago, fell.

"You think so?" Her voice was so small that Ayano strained to hear it.

"Yes, I do." She resumed her mopping and gave the girl a smile, "I think it's best if you keep your e-mails short and brief. What do you ask about anyway?"

"Oh, you know the usual stuff? Like, sometimes in an MMO they make new events and stuff but they _never_ give you any details! In the double EXP week-end event I wanted to know whether they gave you twice the amount of EXP when you kill mobs, or twice the amount when you finish quests… Arena battles never gave you EXP so it was out of the question, but when I asked directly in-game they said that it was with an item that you gain 2x EXP so I sent an e-mail saying—Ah!" She suddenly stopped talking after dropping her mop. As she bent over to pick it up, Ayano quickly took out her cell-phone and took a picture of Midori's alpaca-printed panties. The girl quickly stood up and resumed working and talking…

"Yeah, as I was saying! I sent an e-mail and asked them if that 2x EXP item worked only for mobs or if it also did the trick with quests, I mean… It would be SO COOL if the quests I did doubled with exp! They said that—"

The hour continued as so… With Midori talked non-stop and Ayano politely agreeing with her. It was a relief that she didn't ask her questions, she wasn't in the mood to talk much. Her mind wandered more in what to do the next day, after boldly 'confessing' to Budo, she was sure that the boy was in a mild state of both panic and ecstasy. She didn't ask him to date her or anything, but leaving thing's as they were had a perk too.

Doubt and expectation was a good feeling, she wanted Budo to wander and possibly drown in those before actually using him as her heart pleased.

Then, an idea came into mind.

"Say… Gurin-san?" Ayano began, Midori stopped mid-talk and smiled.

"Call me Midori!"

She held back from rolling her eyes, "Midori-chan, how would you feel if you suddenly received a rare item in a game that you're fond of?"

Midori gave her a confused but delighted look, "I'd be extremely happy! It's so hard to get rare items on RPGs most of the time, but if it's a game that I'm addicted to, then I'd be on cloud nine!"

"I see… And if suddenly, that rare item disappeared from your inventory, how would you feel?"

"Oh I'd be pissed! I mean, I would have worked my ass off to get that item! If it suddenly disappeared like that because of a bug or something, I would have thrown a fit in the forums!"

"Even if you received the item by pure luck?"

"Well… I wouldn't have thrown a fit if that's the case, but I'd still be disappointed and maybe real sad. It's like giving a kid some candy and then stealing it back, talk about false hope…"

"False hope…" Ayano murmured, her eyes venturing outside the window. "I wonder if that's how he'd feel…" She had ventured in her own little word for a moment, forgetting that she wasn't alone. Midori puffed her cheeks cutely while tilting her head.

"Did that happen to you?" She asked with a concerned smile, Ayano raised an eyebrow.

"Nope, but it might if I keep it up."

"Keep what u—HEY, IS THAT HARUKA-SENPAI?!" Midori suddenly shouted while pointing at the school gate, Ayano immediately looked at that direction and noticed the purple-haired girl almost instantly.

"What's she doing here?" She spoke darkly, her yandere self starting to come to light. Midori scratched her head with a shrug.

"No idea! Maybe she just wanted to see her friends? It has been nearly a week."

Ayano saw how Kokona kept glancing at her watch and concluded that Midori's theory was probably true. The bell was going to ring any moment now, so it was most likely that she was waiting for her friends. But why come now? Why not wait and go to school tomorrow instead of playing the 'BFF'?

"Ugh, and here I thought that things were going to go slow… Guess I was wrong," she mumbled and handed Midori her mop, "Here, could you please put that back? I got something to do."

The green-haired gamer wrinkled her nose, "Sure, okay." She then thought for a moment before shouting; "Hey! Do you think we could hang out sometimes?!"

"Yeah, whatever!" She waved her off and dashed towards the other corridor, Midori giggled as she looked at Ayano's disappearing figure. After a moment or two, she grabbed her tamagotchi from her pocket and smirked at it.

"See? Told you mommy could have friends!"

* * *

Some time later…

Budo had been the first to dash outside of class; nobody was capable of stopping him from going home today! Too many things happened, and he was incredibly lucky of having a kind physics teacher that allowed him to attend, despite being over 10 minutes late. He was grateful, sure… But he still felt bad for not paying any attention in class.

Truth was, Ayano had taken over 90 percent of his mind. The other ten percent was his concern for Taro Yamada, who hadn't been himself for the whole day.

Budo didn't blame him, he _couldn't have_ blamed him, the death of Akiko Kurenai was so sudden and unexpected that it threw the few students who met her off. Sure, it was an 'accident' but damn… Anyone who would have witnessed the crime scene would be traumatized for god-knows how long.

The fact that it was Taro who noticed the scene… Wasn't such a good thing.

As the young hero took off his indoor shoes, he glanced left to right for any signs of either Ayano or Taro. The later insisted that he had something urgent to do, so it was preferable for him to go home alone. However, Budo wasn't quite convinced, so he still thought that it might be best to wait for his friend.

The reason why he was also looking for Ayano was because… Um, well…

 _"I love you."_

Yeah, that… And that kiss on the cheek too… No, scratch that… He just wanted to hopefully see her face, if only for a second.

Budo bit his lip and slapped himself mentally, he didn't want to be too hopeful or anything. What he honestly did want to know the real meaning behind her confession, it was something bothered him a whole lot since the moment she left him. The words were clear; she _loved_ him, okay… But did it mean that she also wanted to date him? That, he didn't know, and that's what he wanted to figure out the moment he'd see her!

While nodding, and with a whole new kind of determination; Budo began his search for the sweet kouhai who had so heartwarmingly confessed to him. As he waited near the school gate for her to show up, someone gently tapped him on the shoulder; startling him.

For a moment, he thought it to be Ayano since the poke was gentle and quite feminine. His hopes went down at the speed of light when he noticed that it wasn't Ayano who had caught his attention, but Kokona.

He looked at her with mild surprise, "Haruka-chan? What are you doing here?

The pig-tailed girl smiled and gave him a friendly wave, "Hi, Masuta-kun. Just thought of passing by to say hello, I have skipped school for a while, so..."

"Oh, well then! Glad you finally showed up, everyone was worried about you." He gave her a friendly pat on the back before smirking mischievously, "But something tells me that it wasn't me that you were expecting…"

Kokona blushed, "Please… Um, I'm not really in the mood to talk about that, though I did come because I was… Well… Concerned about him." She gave him a look that meant _'I've heard'_ and Budo couldn't help but feel sad at the mention of his friend's state.

"Yeah, that…" He muttered, the atmosphere got awkward quickly.

"How is he?"

"Okay, I suppose, but he's probably disgusted on the inside. Did you hear how messed up her body was? The whole shelf fell on her face, with the chemicals and all that crap! Anyone would get uncomfortable after witnessing that." He felt his irritation rise again, when he went to class that fateful morning and noticed Taro's gloomy atmosphere, he immediately felt bad and very responsible for what happened. He had no idea why, but part of him blamed himself for not paying proper attention to the incidents within the school, he was also doubting of it being an 'accident', he just knew that it wasn't… It was far too surreal for it being nothing but a mere unfortunate _accident._

Kokona bit her bottom lip as she twirled both of her thumbs, "Oh wow… That's… That's really difficult, I… Can't I see him for a moment?"

"He said he'll be a bit late and asked me to go without him, though frankly, I don't want to let him walk home alone, even if he's a capable guy." Budo stretched a bit, then suddenly remembered something, "By the way, how are you feeling?"

"Eh?"

"You were bullied, right? How's things going?"

"Ah…" She chuckled sheepishly, "I got over it, hopefully I'll come back to school tomorrow."

"That's good, I'm glad that you'll—" Suddenly, he stopped talking. His breath had been taken away by the mesmerizing sight that was in front of him. Just above the small hill on the road, was Ayano, standing there while looking at him straight in the eyes. Budo felt his heart hammer on his chest as she slowly mouthed the words _'tomorrow'_ before walking away with a smile.

Kokona had been waving her hand in front of Budo's face for a while, and yet he didn't respond. She then turned around but found no one. Curiously, she asked her classmate; "Masuta-kun? What were you looking at?"

All the while wondering what would happen tomorrow and trying to focus on his friend, Budo shrugged and closed his eyes.

"Nothing, just admiring the sunset," He murmured.

As the sky went from a warm orange to a sinister blue, Ayano walked while humming cheerfully towards her dear home.

Things were going pretty well, and it would surely continue that way if everything was going according to plan.

 **TBC.**

 **I wrote this chapter so quickly that I woke my little brother up, I felt so bad, ugh! But anyways, I might be a bit late in my updates, but I sure hope that it won't bother you readers much. The story's going on well! And those reviews? Gosh, do they make me happy! I'm thinking of making another Yandere Simulator story after this one, too! That is, if you all are willing to read it. I'll try my best, please continue supporting me!**

 **Review for me, dearest readers, as it always makes me happy!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A thousand apologies! This was probably the most** _ **frustrating**_ **chapter thus far! I've been writing like a lunatic for the whole day and possibly redid Kokona's death scene** _ **three**_ **times due to my dissatisfaction. I've also been ill and had to go to the doctor's for a check-up, which was a whole day-worth of wait and patience and many other things that I can't cope with. So, here we are with this chapter; I hope you could all forgive the lateness of it and enjoy every little piece of** _ **The Hero & The Psycho. **_**I'll be sure to carefully read all of your reviews and make this fic an enjoyable read.**

Thank you for the support.

The Hero & The Psycho.

The neighbourhood had been eerily quiet that particular Saturday morning, with only the faint whisper of the wind and Ayano's sweet humming to animate the streets. The young sophomore checked her watch to see if she had rose early enough, and she did... It was exactly 5 in the morning; a time that reassured her that not even the earliest of souls could wander within those streets, much less the Masuta household. She had learned throughout the week of Budo's early tendencies and concluded that there'd be _no way in hell_ he'd wake up in such ungodly hours. The martial artist had told her - in one of their small chats during lunchtime- that he ran frequently at night and in the mornings to keep a decent shape, and possibly gain more stamina. He usually scheduled a nice jog at about 6 AM till seven during the mornings, and 9 PM till ten thirty at night. It was the rare times when he was free of his job and school duties, a time that benefitted her perfectly.

With a smile and a nice, well-packed lunchbox at hand. Ayano made her way calmly towards the Mastua's in hope to drop her little gift within their mailbox. She had been sure to pack a smaller bento this time so it could fit, and also added the few ingredients she figured Budo would enjoy. After all, the sayings did say that the fastest way to a man's heart is _through his stomach,_ right?

 _Well, if it was that easy; I could've just stabbed my senpai repeatedly in the abdomen and got it over with!_ She thought in bitter amusement. Of course, it was just mere sarcasm, but the idea itself didn't sound so bad... In fact, she found it oddly romantic... Being drenched in senpai's sweet, sweet blood with him trembling at her feet... Gosh, how amazing that would be!

But... Her senpai would be hurt, very much so... She couldn't afford to see him hurt, especially if the wound was fatal. Mentally traumatized... Mhm...That was okay, she wouldn't mind, really. But _physically?!_ Nope, never.

Ayano sighed and shook her head from all the pointless thinking; her fifteen-minute walk had proved itself both refreshing and pleasant. When she had exited the house, she had been mildly annoyed at the prospect of giving Budo a lunchbox and a secret message, for she had better things to do than court a man that _wasn't_ Taro Yamada.

 _It doesn't matter anymore,_ she thought with a shrug as she approached the martial-artist's house. _What's done is done, besides... Manipulating him as I please would be extremely advantageous, I wouldn't have to be on my guard the whole time when that happens._

It was true, with him joining the 'senpai game', things would end up being far easier and smoother. The strongest boy and craziest girl in Akademi-High could end up being quite the killer duo, wouldn't they?

 _And he wouldn't know a single thing~_ She mentally sang as she continued humming, eventually stepping right in front of the mailbox. With a pleasant sigh, Ayano opened it and made some space for the lunchbox, which had a note neatly attached to it. She trusted that the hero would be the first to open the mailbox, for he had that... Good boy vibe, yeah, that was it...

In a swift motion, Ayano twirled around and fixed her flower-patterned dress. It was a week-end and she had _lots_ of plans. While still humming, the bashful teenager took out of her small pocket and pen and began scribbling a few memos on her palm. Satisfied, she gave one last glance at the Masuta household and walked back home to get her bike.

The day proved itself to be quite interesting already.

* * *

Some time later, the hero awoke from his bed with a yawn. He had been used to waking up in the same hour day after day without an alarm clock, for he hated to disturb his sleeping family. The walls within the house weren't particularly thick, which made almost every noise some kind of nuisance. This had, -of course- transformed the whole family into heavy-sleepers, with the rare exception of Budo, who had always been on his guard.

With a shrug of the shoulders, Budo removed the blankets and jumped out of bed to perform his usual morning stretch. After doing so, he took out his usual tracksuit and sneakers to get ready for a jog. He had always jogged early to arrive later and eat a heart-warming breakfast with his family; running in the neighbourhood with an empty stomach always appeared to make him much lighter and more at ease. At times, when he was sure nobody would actually _roam_ around; he'd throw a few punches here and there and continue his training in a nearby park.

However, that particular morning was far from being ordinary.

Just as he exited his house did he notice how unbelievably _full_ the mailbox looked and quirked an eyebrow at it. With curious eyes, Budo opened the sorry-excuse of a box and noticed with outmost shock that there was a whole bento in it.

"What the... I recognize this..." He whispered to himself mainly, as he slowly pulled it out; ignoring the junk mail that fell on the ground. It was a rather small bento, one that was thick enough to contain the heat. Dark wood, he noticed... It wasn't uncommon, but this one was pure and decorated with a few flower patterns.

There was no doubt about it; it was Ayano Aishi's lunchbox.

His heart started thumping loudly in his chest; it throbbed pleasantly and left him with a yearning sensation. Oddly enough, he wasn't sure whether he had hoped to actually _cross paths_ with her so early in the morning, or whether he simply wanted to understand the meaning behind it at all. Regardless, he was happy... Happy that she had been so caring towards him.

Budo then noticed the smallest of notes attached on the back of the lunchbox and took it off. Said note was even smaller than the box, but had both bold and neatly written letters in Kanji.

 _For Masuta-senpai._ It said, the martial-artist wasted no time in opening it.

 _'Good morning, senpai! How are you? I'm sorry for crushing your mail with this lunch, but I didn't have much choice, sadly. I knew that you had work today, so I thought of cooking you a little something, it's not much... But at least it'll help you 'keep the shape up!' like you say so frequently (ehe!) It may look like a pain, but please accept it. And if possible... I'd like to see you today... After or during your night jog, in the park... You wouldn't mind, would you?_

Also, please don't worry about the other lunchbox, you could return it to me any time!

Yours,

Ayano Aishi.'

He had smiled unconsciously when he read the letter, feeling his heart pound pleasantly at the sight of her handwriting. It was elegant and visible, a bit rough somehow... Yet still beautiful in its own way.

Still smiling, Budo tucked the note carefully within his pocket and took the bento inside the refrigerator. Once that was done, he proceeded with his usual morning jog and left, happier than usual.

* * *

Elsewhere... A while later.

Ayano had checked her watch the moment she stepped off of her bike; it was about 10 AM, the perfect time to set a crime. She had quite shamelessly followed Kokona Haruka towards her cram school, quite meticulously noted every movement and every conversation she had made WITHIN the cram school, and had most quite indignantly taken a few shots of her panties.

 _When given the occasion... One simply cannot refuse._ Was what she continuously thought along the way. Info-chan was very demanding in terms of panty shots, there were countless of things that she wanted to get from her, only problem was that they required an extremely large amount of undergarment pictures. It was indecent, and often; she thought of using her very _own_ panties on display, because who the heck would figure out that they were hers anyway?

It would've been a good solution... If it weren't for Info-chan's keen eyes.

 _'Nice try, but you can't fool these eyes...'_ She had said, _'Boys aren't dumb either, they'll know whose panties they are, it's easy to get a girl's measurements when you've been trying since grade one.'_

"Smart-mouth..." Ayano muttered as she hid within the cram-school's corridors. Kokona had been absent for the week, it was only natural that she would attend other classes on a Saturday. That big-busted wench was known for having good grades too, no wonder she was so 'popular'...

But the bullying and rumours had been an efficient little push coming from that first year; Yui Rio. Nowadays, killing within school grounds found itself difficult, so cornering that bitch of a rival in another establishment made it ten times more fun and easy.

With a hum, Ayano opened a random door out of sheer curiosity; she had been roaming around for nearly two whole hours, with Kokona still being busy in class. The teenage yandere wanted to familiarize herself with the place before actually starting a satisfying round of rampage. A good little parade of ideas danced on top of her head and there was just _so much_ she could do, be it from mental or physical torture, Ayano wanted to hurt her rival before finishing her off.

"Now, let's see... What do we have here?" she thought aloud as she walked within an empty chemistry class. There were lots of good lethal stuff to play with in there, but cram-school was about to end far too soon for her to look around better. The least she was able to get was a scalpel and a box of matches...

"Hmm... Stabbing her with a scalpel wouldn't really kill her, judging by the seize... Though if I aimed for the heart...?" Ayano looked up in thought but remembered the _enormous_ breasts Kokona had as a shield and dropped the idea. Such a small scalpel wouldn't even get close to the heart, much less her actual ribcage...

"Then, what if I lit her on fire?" She mused while looking at the box of matches on her other hand, "That'd be quite the show! But I'd need something flammable first..."

She pondered and kept thinking about ways to murder her current rival, unconsciously scribbling on her palm during the process. Back with Akiko –the school's _diseased_ nurse—there was a certain inspiration, a certain pattern... Sadly, nothing came to mind at the moment.

The class's clock kept ticking annoyingly, reminding her that every second was precious time. Giving it a glance, she realized that the classes would end in less than five minutes. With a shrug and a sigh, the pony-tailed sophomore continued a bit of her research within the class, only but to find a locked cabinet.

"Well, crap. All the good stuff's in there..." She muttered, breaking it open was also an option, but it would make plenty of noise. Ayano didn't like gaining unwanted visitors, much less _nosy_ visitors that would ruin her plan; it was always a hassle to dirty her hands unnecessarily...

The sudden sound of students rushing out of class startled her back to reality, making her curse inwardly at her very thin sense of time. Kokona must've left too, which was another bad thing, though she could just _stalk and kill her home..._ Nah...

What charm is there in doing something so _unimaginative?_

Witch a click of the tongue, Ayano sneaked out of the classroom and tried to fit along the crowd as another student. She had gone to cram schools quite often, so she was aware of the students' busy schedule and procedures. The teachers there were nicer than those who taught in regular establishments, and a lot more serious if she thought about it too... But paying for such tutoring wasn't simple, it was quite expensive too... Her parents had money, so it wasn't much of a problem, except that it had gone in the way between her and senpai. Which (of course) was a big dilemma for the teenage yandere...

 _At least I'm over with it,_ she thought as she calmly walked amongst the other students, the scalpel carefully hidden within her bra, and matches inside her pocket. She still wasn't sure how to kill Kokona, but ideas would surely come sooner or later; now wouldn't they?

Ayano kept looking left to right until she spotted a rather tall boy with messy brunette hair looking through his bag; she pursed her lips in concentration, for his face looked... Rather familiar... Oh!

"Excuse me!" She spoke while waving her hand, the boy sopped looking through his bag to give Ayano his attention. She smiled in an attempt to look friendly and hopefully approachable; he seemed to have fallen for it, _good..._

"Hi!" She greeted, "I'm kinda' in a need of help, do you mind giving me a moment?"

"Sure... What is it?" he replied curiously, had he met her before? He wasn't sure, but her face looked familiar.

"See, there's this girl that I really need to find... Her name's Kokona, Kokona Haruka, do you know her?" _I'm sure you do, you big perv..._ She added mentally. The boy's eyes widened and a sudden smile illuminated his young features, making his dimples show on his pale face.

"Oh, you're one of Kokona's friends?" he said while suddenly straightening himself up, "that's nice! I thought I saw you somewhere." He added with a grin. Ayano bashfully chuckled with her hand covering her mouth, so she had been right... It was one of _those_ guys, huh... Fair enough, she could use him; no big deal.

He had started checking her out rather shamelessly before clearing his throat, "So you said that you're looking for Kokona? Well, I haven't really seen her since we don't have the same classes now, but I do have an idea of where she is."

 _That's awfully vague..._ She thought darkly, but kept her gentle mask regardless, "Oh? Well then, would you mind guiding me?" It was an honest request, yet he somehow took it as some sort of... Offering of a kind, she presumed.

The look in his eyes gave it all.

He licked his lips and gestured at the stairs.

"With pleasure, ladies first..."

* * *

Meanwhile... At the rooftop.

"Hey look, please listen I... What? No! No... Of course I'm grateful! You're the one who's paying, I... Yes, Yes I know it's true; we've been through a lot... No, I stopped seeing him, don't worry... I... I'm still... Yeah... Um, I can't really; not today, my father's home... S-Sisuta town? You'll take me there?! But I can't! I have homework to do, I missed school for a _week,_ I need to study! ... Ah, I mean, yes...! Yes, I'm still in the cram school... What do you mean 'then its fine'? It's not fine! Ah... Pl-Please don't get mad, I'm sorry... I'm grateful, thank you, thank you... Ngh..."

Kokona whimpered in disgust the moment the old geezer started 'talking dirty' to her on the other line of the phone. It had been a rough morning, even _rougher_ now that she received that call from one of her 'clients'. Her night job had required her to wander off with older men for money, lots and lots of good money that would benefit both she and her father. Of course, that money hadn't grown on trees, even less on the easy-to-reach bushes... That money had been earned by walking around towns, acting lovey-dovey, and spreading her legs. That money... that wretched money, was her passport to hell, for it, despite being hard-earned, wasn't clean cash.

She had been forced into those circumstances the moment her mother died. Her father had resumed his drinking habits and lost too much of his money by gambling, which was a downcast for the whole Haruka family. School fees, bills, and food were hard to pay, so she had been left with no other choice but to sell her very own body. Often, she would be lucky enough to encounter wealthy men who appreciated her features, a few of them actually paid very _very_ well, while others insisted on paying her school fees, be it both ordinary or cram schools.

At times, she had to put up with jealous men who wanted her all for themselves, like the one she was talking with, for instance.

She had trouble remaining sane at this point.

"I... Yeah... I'm flattered, um... I need to go...? Yes, I'll see you tonight, thanks, bye..."

Kokona hung up and hid her face with both hands, feeling ashamed. "Why... Why do I keep doing this?!" She thought in anger, "That creepy bastard! The nerve of him! Ugh!"

It was both pitiful and shameful, and she had no idea how to end it all. They paid everything, they supported her. That dirty money was her pillar, it had kept her up all this time, she wouldn't have been able to keep up if it weren't for that money... and _him._

Kokona looked at the ground for a good minute before pulling out a picture of a smiling boy, his hair dark and eyes warm. The dark uniform had barely fitted him when he was a junior, only clinging very loosely at his still-young body. She had managed to take a sneaky shot at him chatting with friends, luckily capturing his smile in the process.

"Yamada-kun..." She whispered lovingly at the picture, "I wonder... Even after learning all of my mistakes, my night job, and past... Would you still be my friend?"

The wind blew almost soothingly, making the small picture flutter along, as if he had heard and responded. Kokona smiled and kissed the picture in adoration, she had never given up hope, even after being bullied and forced into doing things. She had never given up... Because of him.

He was her actual pillar, not the money, nor her father. He was the one that mattered to her most.

Feeling like it was grand time to head home, Kokona opened the rooftop's door and entered the cram-school. As she started walking down on the stairs, she noticed that the light was getting dimmer and dimmer... Until practically nothing was visible. With a huff, Kokona looked around for some kind of light switch, but none were there... Cursing, the teenager continued walking down on the stairs until she suddenly slipped on an odd and heavy liquid.

She fell down with a scream and rolled on the countless steps of the stairs, her body hurting her everywhere as the world spun and spun around her. Every part ached, every part hurt like hell and she hadn't been able to do anything about it. She had eventually rolled till the normal ground with a loud _THUD,_ putting an end to her seemingly endless fall. While groaning, Kokona attempted to pull herself up, but in vain. The stairs had injured her everywhere, and she was quite sure that she had sprained her ankle.

"O-Oww..." She hissed in pain, only taking notice of the weird liquid that had gotten all over her in that instant, "Wh-What's this...?" She thought as she sniffed her clothes, "It smells like... Like..."

"Blood?" A girl's voice answered. Kokona turned and saw a shadow standing behind her, "Yup, that's it... Blood."

"W-W-Who are you?!" She asked in fright. The girl laughed.

"Me? Oh, I'm nothing but an innocent young girl who's so desperately in love with her senpai." She answered in a singing tone. Kokona didn't find it all that amusing, but simply kept her guard up.

"Like... Like I'd believe you!" She screamed suddenly, "What did you do? And why am I soaked in blood?!"

The shadow sighed in annoyance and threw a rather big 'object' in her direction, it had fallen right on top of her and it was both warm and wet, much to her horror. Her eyes had started getting used to the darkness, and so she managed to faintly realize that it was...

... A dead body...

"K...K...KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Ayano laughed hysterically at the sound of Kokona's scream. Oh, that _beautiful melody!_ It was such a good thing that cram school ended already, otherwise plenty of other students' would've come; alarmed with some kind of help to see what was the commotion about. She had luckily stumbled upon a pray that had found itself useful in its own way... To think one of Info-Chan's loyal panty clients attended this cram school... And to think that he had _dared_ to try making a move on her... Oh how simply sinful!

Good thing the scalpel had been put to good use!

"Oh my, but it's nothing but the beginning, sweetheart! Wait and see what I have in store for you!" She said between laughs while slowly approaching the cowering Kokona. Said girl tried to push the body over and run away, except her sprained ankle didn't do her any favours...

"Please! Leave me be! I can't... I can't die here! Not now! Not before confessing my feelings to him!" She cried desperately. Ayano had understood, she had understood very _well_ who she was talking about, and that... That angered her even more.

"Oh yeah? You poor little baby..." She smirked devilishly, "Do you honestly think senpai would love you?"

Kokona didn't listen; she just kept limping her way towards the stairs.

Ayano approached her, bloody scalpel still at hand, "You think he'd actually _want_ to touch a filthy girl like you? A girl who had been thoroughly taken over and over and over..."

"STOP IT!" Kokona screamed, Ayano paid no mind and continued repeating.

"Over and over and over again! By how many men?"

"Stop... Stop, I don't want to hear it!"

"Oh, you don't...?" She grinned as she stomped Kokona's injured ankle, making her scream in pain, "Pity, you're far more obedient with those men, how come you're so stubborn with me?"

There was no answer, only pained breaths and small whimpers. The blood continued dripping on the stairs, and Ayano silently thanked the gods she had avoided blood stains in her dress. Small weapons were less gruesome, after all.

She didn't have time to ponder that anyway, and besides...

Her words had stung more than she intended them to.

"Please... Let me live..." Kokona begged one more time.

Ayano hadn't let her finish, as she neatly stabbed her in the neck.

* * *

Night time had come quickly for Budo, his job had let him go off the hook earlier than usual and it was a refreshing turn of events. He had been very eager to finish working, actually, for he had an important meeting with a certain somebody.

He had been jogging for a while now, and he still hadn't grown tired by a bit. His shirt, while being completely soaked in sweat, haven't proved anything, he _wasn't_ tired, because he said it so himself.

 _Ayano..._ His mind continuously thought as he ran along the empty road, heading straight towards the park, _Ayano...!_

She had occupied his mind, his being, his soul since that very confession, the letter and bento didn't make things any better too. All he wanted was to see her face, look deep within her grey orbs and promise her over and over that he'd protect her, no matter what the cost. Even though he had seen her, acknowledged her very presence just a week ago, he couldn't deny... he fell in love with his kouhai.

And he intended to ask her the reason behind that confession, no matter what the cost.

Budo kept running until he finally reached the park. He seldom got tired during a jog, but this one had been too 'fast' to be considered a jog, so it was... Understandable? Perhaps, yes. Though it wasn't that bright of an idea to run like a madman, his low ponytail had gotten messy, and his shirt had made him feel extremely warm, despite the chilly weather.

Nonetheless, he didn't care... All he saw was the lovely girl, sitting in the bench and smiling at him.

He smiled back at her and jogged at her side, where he sat on her left to gaze at the stars along.

They were in their own little world, admiring the stars in comfortable silence.

He had noticed her fidgeting every so often, a deep blush on her pale cheeks. Her dress had been wet, a sign that she had desperately washed something off while coming here. He noticed the cute nail polish she had applied only recently on her ever so beautiful hands, and also smelled the faint scent of jasmine emitting from her.

Had she applied perfume for his sake? God, was he lucky.

Budo had settled in simply admiring her along with the stars, until she broke the silence shyly.

"I'm... Sorry for calling you this late..." she mumbled. Budo shook his head.

"No, I'm happy you called for me..."

Another pause...

"Was the lunch good?" She asked while taking a peek at him, he nodded with a smile.

"Heavenly, I ate it all."

More silence...

"You know, I—"

"Listen, there's—"

They had both started speaking at the same time, and the air became awkward again.

"Um, you go first." Ayano said politely.

"No, no please, I didn't really want to say anything."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Okay..." She breathed in and looked back at the stars, "truth is, I called you to put some closure regarding my... Um... Confession..." She said shyly.

Budo felt his heart pound.

"You see, Masuta-senpai... I'm actually a very selfish girl..."

"You are?" he said, surprised. He had never seen her as selfish, she nodded and he continued listening.

"Yes, I am very selfish." She paused for a moment to gently caress Budo's hand, making him twitch slightly at the sudden contact.

Ayano's lips curved into a smile, "Whenever I see you with other girls, senpai, I get envious... Very, very envious of those girls who get to talk and smile at you all day. Often, I'd get so envious that I forget who I am..." She laughed slightly. Budo felt the heat rise on his face as she smiled at him.

"You were so handsome and reliable senpai... Kind beyond one's imagination... I... Couldn't help it... I fell in love with you!" She declared and got closer, this time taking both of his hands.

"Ayano..." he gulped and squeezed her hands back, gently and lovingly.

She continued and licked her lips, an action that affected him greatly.

"Confessing to you... Was embarrassing but necessary! Necessary because... Because I want you, senpai, all for myself..." her words were soft and barely above a whisper, yet he heard them all, very clearly even.

Ayano gentled her touch on his hands and proceeded, "I want to be your sweetheart, senpai... I want us to be romantically involved..." She whispered again and guided his hand towards her cheek, "I want us to be intimate..."

At that point, Budo's heart was about to leap out of its ribcage. If he was already in love with her, then he was pretty much crazy about her now. How did she manage to catch his heart in a mere week? Was he that easy? No... No he wasn't... Was she that irresistible? Yes... Quite painfully so.

And he wanted her to be his.

"I also—" He was about to answer before Ayano cut him off with her finger, shushing him. He raised both his eyebrows in curiosity, making her smile.

"But wait, senpai, there's more..."

"Mm?" The heat in his face was bound in making him dizzy, but he didn't care, he wanted an answer and he wanted to kiss her senseless already.

"I want us to be intimate... In secret..."

"Secret?" He repeated, both confused and startled. She blushed, and he understood.

"You're shy...?" he asked with a small smile.

"I... Wouldn't want word to spread already, so if possible... Could we date in secret...? If you wish to actually date me, that is..."

 _A secret relationship, huh? I like the sound of that..._ He thought, his adventurous side coming to light. It was truly adorable to see a girl shy like her, he really didn't have much to say.

"It's alright, I wouldn't mind..." he whispered shyly, her eyes widened.

"R-Really? You're okay with me?"

He laughed, "Okay? I'm more than okay with you, Ayano..."

"S-Senpai..."

Budo hadn't been quite sure what happened next, all he remembered was the light in her eyes, her wet tongue darting out to lick her rosy lips, and her face getting closer and closer to him. What he wouldn't forget, however, was the next moment when her perfectly moist lips collided with his own, engaging in a logging, passionate kiss that marked them both as lovers.

 **TBC.**

 **I'm tired, it's 5AM... Good night...**  
 **Also, please read my profile for the fanfic's current progress, as I am going to be a bit busy in the future. Reviews are appreciated, so please, continue supporting!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Back with another chapter, back from all those pesky errands! Please accept my sincere apology; I'll try to avoid getting into trouble for now.**

 **I wish to thank all of you who reviewed the previous chapter, and for all you new readers, welcome! Please continue to support me, for I am in desperate need of** _ **some**_ **type of affection!**

The Hero & The Psycho.

"... This recent chain of tragic events has been difficult for all of us, we assure you all that no matter what the cost; we'll do our best to keep the school safe from harm. The only thing we ask of you is to stay at home during this week." The counsellor spoke strictly, making sure that her word was as clear as water. The whole gymnasium had been crowded with students that Monday morning, all surprised to hear that the third year; Kokona Haruka, had died. There were also rumours about Hanabi Kuronuma's disappearance, but the headmaster had made sure that they didn't spread any further. Though his identity was still unknown to the students, he apparently held quite an active role throughout the years in Akademi-high and was known to be very serious in his work.

It was a mystery why he never showed up, but Ayano wasn't going to think about it too much. She was lucky that no matter how bad and fast the murders were; the media never got itself involved, which was probably due to him not wanting it to poke around his establishment... Or simply because the bodies somehow managed to mysteriously disappear just before they could call the police (ha).

 _Meh..._ She shrugged mentally, _whatever he does is none of my concern, in fact... I have better things to do right now._ She thought with a giggle, her eyes wandering towards the nearby group of third years on her left, immediately spotting her beloved Taro Yamda staring off into a distance, his eyes in the blink of tears.

Ayano nearly squealed, oh how beautiful he looked when he was sad... It was a scene, a moment to cherish for the rest of her life! A pity that she wasn't able to take a sneaky picture of his adorable face, there were far too many students, and the counsellor was known for having very keen eyes, surely; it would've been problematic to get caught, for her phone was... Not quite clean.

 _It's info-chan's fault for asking me to take too many panty shots... But then again, there are too many pictures of senpai in it, so I guess we're both guilty of something._ The teenage yandere thought with a sigh.

Ayano had learned to appreciate small things, so simply taking a glimpse of her sweetheart's face was enough to calm her down completely. True, they were about to take a one week break, meaning that she wouldn't be able to go to school and stalk her senpai all the time, or make sure no ugly bitch tries to steal him away, but it wasn't the end of the world.

Besides, her plans for the week were far more worth it in her opinion, because not only did it involve her beloved senpai, but also a certain somebody that turned out to be _far_ more useful than she had ever imagined.

She smirked darkly upon noticing Budo Masuta, her new 'boyfriend' glaring at the ground while balling his hands into fists; it seemed far too obvious that the current situation wounded him, for he had always been a close friend to the –now late- Kokona Haruka. Surprisingly enough, she also enjoyed watching him hurting, though unlike her senpai; he didn't seem to be about to cry or anything like that... He actually looked really, really _pissed_.

Ayano allowed her eyes to scrutinize him further; he truly was a big boy, with far too many muscles for his age, but still lean regardless. Seeing a young adult like him, (so well-built and strong) quiver in both rage and sadness made her body tremble for more. For some odd reason, she found his pathetic and enraged appearance satisfying and attractive, sending weird sensations throughout her whole body.

 _I want to hurt you more,_ she thought with a smile, darting her tongue out to wet her dry lips, _I want to see you in the blink of tears, just like senpai... I want you to beg, scream in agony for this living hell to stop._ Her mind already pictured him kneeling before her, his cheeks wet with his tears and his torso full of scratches and bruises, all looking sinfully captivating on his body.

She didn't know if it was nothing but mere sadism, but one thing's for sure, her desire to monopolize and use him to her advantage was certain, and she wanted nothing more but to have her way and keep him locked up for her own, guilty pleasure.

It was simply how lovesick people were; she didn't have a power over it, fighting such a thing was like denying who she was, and as far as she knew... Everything about her reeked of _insanity._

* * *

Budo wondered where everything went wrong.

Two days ago, he had been extremely happy to engage a relationship with his new fond sweetheart; Ayano Aishi. The day that followed, he had been equally happy to walk with her home when his shift ended, their hands interlocked ever so lovingly. But the cursed Monday morning that came crashing like a meteor ruined it all in the blink of an eye, everything crumbled intro pieces simply because that wretched murderer killed yet again another innocent student.

And it just so happened that it was his close classmate: Kokona Haruka.

Words weren't capable of expressing the anger he felt towards that killer, how dare he... What kind of sick person would find pleasure in murdering in cold blood innocent teenage girls!? What good did it do? What did he gain from it?

He wasn't sure, but all those questions drove him downright crazy... And scared... If that murderer was on the loose, it meant that all the female students were in great danger, including Ayano, whom he had grown so very fond of. Budo wasn't one to panic in dangerous situations, but when it involved people he cherished dearly, everything within his mind _turned blank._

He bit his thumb and looked at the crowd of students, all of them seemed confused and frightened, especially the girls; who kept whispering between each other in sheer terror. Some of them voiced their fears, saying that it was going to be difficult walking back home alone, while others thought about changing schools, and possibly study in a whole different city, away from harm.

Budo thought long and hard; the counsellor's words barely going through his head. He wanted the school to stay safe, he wanted the female students to roam around freely without having to worry about getting killed, and he wanted _his_ precious Ayano to _feel_ safe as well.

 _That's right... Ayano, where is she?_ He suddenly thought as he looked around at the crowd of students. The sophomores were all lined behind the first years, just a row ahead from seniors, it was how they usually were aligned during opening ceremonies or important announcements, so figuring out the positions wasn't that big of a deal. With that thought in mind; the martial-artist looked further at his right, hoping to spot a familiar black, high-ponytail. He figured that it wouldn't be hard to find her; she wasn't the type of girl to spend too much time styling her hair or anything, everything about her reeked 'plain' and 'normal' at first glance, but there were things about her that only he knew, that only _he'd_ seen...

 _Things that I'll keep for myself..._ He smiled and blushed slightly, yes... He was pretty happy to have discovered _that_ side of Ayano Aishi, the side which she had kept hidden for so long. It made him all proud and joyful to be the only man who had felt the soft texture of her lips, who had tasted her sweet flavour and hugged her feminine frame ever so lovingly. To think he'd be that lucky...

 _No!_ He shook his head in a quick motion and resumed his search, _now's not the time! I have to find her and -_

In the instant he had that thought, he found her staring at him from the fourth row, her head tilted slightly and her eyes looking at him with foreign intensity. He stared in mild shock and confusion, wondering if she had managed to read his mind somehow. Her intense stare changed to something more gentle and sorrowful as she smiled sadly towards his direction, as if she understood his feelings. He pursed his lips and tried to hide his blush by lowering his head.

 _That was unexpected..._ Budo thought as he rubbed the back of his neck, _I better tell her though, the sooner the better!_

When the martial arts master finally regained his composure, he mouthed at his sweetheart 'later, let's talk' and looked at her expression. She nodded in understanding and formed and 'ok!' with her hand and turned around to continue listening. He felt his lips curve into a small smile as he thought about the week that ensued. There were plenty of things to worry about, but he wasn't going to dwell in panic any longer than necessary.

It was a matter of minutes before the counsellor's speech ended and Budo immediately made his way towards Taro Yamada, who had been eerily quiet through the whole deal. With a worried glance and a warm hand resting on his shoulder, the senior shook his friend and spoke in a calm, soothing voice.

"Yamada?" he called, "you okay there, buddy?"

The shorter boy didn't budge, his eyes hidden by the shadow of his bangs. Budo furrowed his brows at that and continued shaking him, no response... So he really was affected by those deaths... Well... It wasn't surprising actually, the victims were all close female friends and classmates, aside from perhaps the substitute nurse, but her death had affected him still.

Budo looked around and realized that most of the students were leaving the gymnasium to go home, he had to speak with the members of his club and Ayano herself, wasting time idiotically like this wasn't worth it, especially if it was because of some trivial feelings.

With a sigh, Budo pinched both of Taro's cheeks, making him mutter an annoyed 'ouch' and finally look straight in his eyes. "That hurt, Masuta."

"Well you were daydreaming like a baby so I didn't really have much choice, did I?" he said while folding his arms, "I'm honestly worried about you... Most of us are," he admitted. Taro felt the tears threaten to pour, but held himself strong and kept looking straight ahead, avoiding his friend's eyes.

"I... I just..." he sighed in defeat, "I'm sorry, Masuta, everything happened way too fast and... Oh god..."

Budo felt like he had a small panic attack at the sight of his friend crying, he had never seen Taro in such a state before, and it was very _very_ weird and rare. Men weren't supposed to cry, men were supposed to stay strong and endure whatever hardship was ahead of them, crying was the last option... But... Judging by the situation, he felt like he understood, and he too thought about mourning with his tears.

 _No..._ he thought as he gave his friend warm, brotherly pats on the shoulder, _tears wouldn't bring them back, it's best to just pray nothing else bad happens._

He allowed Taro to cry, for he was sure that those weren't his only tears... But also Kokona's, who hadn't been able to confess her feelings towards him.

* * *

"He's late..." Sho Kunin thought aloud with an impatient face, "He said that he'll talk to us by the end of the speech, and he's LATE!"

"Hush!" Mina Rai shushed him with her finger, "you aren't in any position to talk about shishou like that! Learn to respect him, you dimwit."

Sho pouted and muttered a few cursed words under his breath; it was truly unfair that both of them had to wait while the other club members were allowed to go home, while he understood Mina's reason for staying, he pretty much felt like he was a nuisance himself.

 _Why should I be in the middle of a stupid, mushy-mushy atmosphere..._ He thought angrily, _it's not like_ _ **I**_ _have feelings for him here!_ He looked at Mina with fierce, annoyed eyes and hoped that she would feel his intense stare throw daggers at her back, but she remained completely oblivious and continued waiting as if he didn't even exist.

Things got really complicated...

Five minutes later, Budo dashed out of the gymnasium along with Taro, who appeared to have some difficulty tagging along. Mina's face brightened with adoration as she saw her shishou wave towards them with a smile.

"Sorry to have kept you guys waiting!" the master said with worried eyes, "knowing you, Kunin, I'm sure you complained your heart out!" he nudged his disciple playfully on the arm. Sho winced at his shishou's strength but immediately recovered as he looked in embarrassment at the giggling Mina.

"So, shishou..." she spoke suddenly, trying to refine her tone, "You wanted to talk to us, yes?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Budo scratched his chin and thought for a bit, "Uhm, I've been thinking that it might be best to stop club activities for this week, considering the circumstances." He said with a shrug. Both Sho and Mina looked at each other as if that declaration was completely unexpected.

"But shishou..." Sho interrupted, "Wouldn't stopping our training in the middle of such a situation be considered cowardly and pointless? The point of our club is to stay strong and to protect other people, including our loved ones. If we stop because of some petty murderer, then we're no better than those pansies you guys call students!"

Mina gasped and gave Sho a death glare, to which he ignored completely. He knew that she was about to scold him, but those were his honest thoughts, so he didn't care. Budo scratched his head and lifted his hand meaning for Mina to stay quiet, she looked at him with a stare that meant 'are you sure?' and he nodded.

"You're right, Kunin... Um, Yamada?" he called his friend; Taro snapped out of his daze and looked at him. "You can go without me, I've got some stuff to deal with, you don't mind?"  
"Oh! No, it's fine... I'll see you soon, then?" he said while casting worried glances towards both Budo and Sho, the former simply smiled and waved as if everything was alright.

"Yeah, be careful," he said in his usual cheerful voice. Taro nodded and left quietly, wondering if things were going smoothly still.

Once he was sure that Taro was out of ear-shot, Budo began to speak; "So, where were we? Ah! Right... We were arguing about whether or not we should quit club activities for the week."

"Yeah," Sho nodded, "And I think I've been clear on that, I'm against stopping."

"Kunin..." Mina began, her eyes threatening him. Sho sighed in annoyance and finally decided to glare at her.

"Geez, what's your problem? I'm just speaking honestly here, if there's a crazy psychopath out there then we should continue to train ourselves to fight against him! He has something against our school, that's all the more reason for us to keep training and become stronger!"

"But that's not a way to talk towards shishou!" She countered while putting both her hands on her hips, before Sho could respond; Budo went between them and motioned for them to calm down.

"Alright, let's all stop this!" the martial artist shooed them further from each other, "It's alright, Mina-san, let him talk, I like it when my disciples are honest."

"B-But..." she looked deep within his grey eyes before sighing in defeat and backing away, letting them both talk at ease. Seeing that, Budo finally focused all of his attention towards his other disciple, who appeared to have calmed down quite a bit as well.

"Kunin, when I meant for us to stop club activities for the week, I meant it to be considerate towards both of our female club members. The murderer that we have here seems to be targeting the girls from our school; don't you think going into the club room everyday would be dangerous for them?" He spoke calmly, as if he understood what Sho was feeling at the moment. It was true that stopping the training sessions so early in spring wasn't serious or planned, but he didn't have much to say, besides... It was only a week, nothing to be fighting about.

Sho looked at the ground in confrontation, "W-Well! Why don't the boys train instead? Maybe we could even catch the murderer if we stay in school long enough!"

Budo gave him a sad smile, "Don't you think that'd be unfair? How would both Rai-san and Shita-san feel if they knew we were training behind their backs? No... That's out of the question." He shook his head and Sho slouched in a form of defeat, seeing that; the far bigger teen gave him a few pats on the back, "It's only for a week..." he said with a chuckle. Sho glared the other way and muttered to himself a few incomprehensible words while Mina simply smiled in amusement; her shishou really had a way with words... It was one of the qualities that she loved about him, along with his reliability and strength.

Thinking about it made her blush unknowingly, her feelings were supposed to be kept hidden, a secret... But it got gradually harder and harder to keep her adoration towards him for herself. Even the idiots like Sho Kunin figured her out; it was starting to get rather difficult.

Mina bit her lip then cleared her throat in hopes to get both of their attention, there was no time to fool around and she needed to stay both mature and brave for the good of the club. It was an honour to be second best in the whole school, and more importantly, it was an honour to be taught under Budo Masuta's care.

She wanted to leave it at that.

"So I assume that you want us to contact the other club members, shishou?" She asked with a professional tone.

"Yes, if you don't mind," Budo said as he checked his watch, his expression slowly transforming into one of panic and hurry, "So! Um, I better head out now; I've got lots to do! Just be sure to inform everyone that they don't have to practice for the week, bye!"

Before both of his disciples could answer, Budo Masuta ran out of their sight so quickly that even _they_ got impressed. It wasn't a rare sight to see him run off to somewhere, but the impatience in his tone made Mina quite curious and intrigued.

"Welp! Time to head home!" Sho declared while holding the back of his neck with both hands, his expression carefree and completely oblivious. Mina rolled her eyes and held back a sigh; could someone really be that carefree?

Sho turned around and looked at his female friend with confusion in his eyes, "Aren't you coming?" he said with a frown. The far stronger girl thought for a bit then shook her head,

"No need, I have something to take care of as well, we'll talk soon anyway." She said in a cold voice and took her school bag, "Goodbye now."

"H-Huh? Hey! Don't you want me to escort you? I mean it's dangerous for a girl to walk home alone and—"

"You're honestly asking _me_ that?" She stared at him with dull, unimpressed eyes and he realized that it was true. Regardless of her gender, Mina Rai was far, far, _faar_ stronger than he, so if somebody needed to be escorted... It was definitely him, and not the other way around.

Sho pouted yet again and furrowed his brows in annoyance, "real subtle there... Thanks for stepping on my pride." He grumbled to himself as he saw her departing form. Still... He couldn't quite come to hate her, even if she was rude and snobbish sometimes, she still was a dear friend; and he wouldn't tolerate anyone hurting her...

Though frankly, no one dared to do that anyway, and he doubted anyone would.

* * *

Budo ran like crazy towards the school gate, he hadn't expected to take so much time talking with both his disciples, but he did... And he had spent even _more_ time trying to console Taro, who somehow ended up being a real crybaby. Those unexpected events all made him feel somewhat guilty, because who on his right mind would let his girlfriend wait _an hour?!_

As he left the school grounds, he looked around near the gate for a black ponytail but found none. Cursing, the martial arts master looked through his schoolbag for his phone until a familiar, feminine voice called out to him.

"You took your sweet time," Ayano laughed, her back casually leaning on the wall. Budo looked at her for a good moment, as if he wasn't even sure that she was there... Then frowned and hid his phone back inside the bag.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you wait, really! Stuff happened, and I had to go talk to my disciples and—"

Ayano held both of his hands and started caressing them with her thumbs, a gentle smile on her face, "Why are you so tense? It's no big deal," she whispered soothingly. Budo suddenly felt lost within those pretty, sparkly dark-grey orbs as they stared so affectionately at him, and wondered if he had ever been this lucky. Any other girl would have felt annoyed or offended and left, but she? She didn't, she remained and stayed and _forgave him._

It suddenly made him feel really bad, and so he continued talking in panic; "But it was still completely immature and irresponsible of me to have let you wait outside in such circumstances! Most of the students and teachers already left, what if someone came and assaulted you?! What if that so called murder came here and did something, what if—"

Ayano had been quick to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him straight on the lips to shut him up for a bit, and just as she thought... It did, and quite neatly too. It was a reckless act, and it would have been dangerous if anyone saw them like that, but oh, she hadn't felt anyone's presence so it was just fine. Besides, what better way was there to calm a boy down but to claim his lips? The perfect remedy!

Budo felt his mind turn blank at the taste of Ayano's soft and moist lips colliding with his own, oh heavens... He had nearly forgotten how sweet and wonderful they felt, it was far too much and he thought that he'd melt if it kept going on like that.

But just as soon as it started, it ended... And Ayano pulled away while licking her lips with a blush on her cheeks.

"You're _always_ worth the wait..." she whispered for his ears only, and Budo wondered if fainting from joy would be a suitable option, because he was so damn _happy._

The taller teen knew that his cheeks were very red, but it didn't bother him at all. He had come to talk to her and tell her to be careful from now on, not to panic and feel sorry for no real reason.

And so he tried (and he really did) to gain his composure and talk.

"Uh, umm..." he looked around as if the words were written on trees, with Ayano tilting her head demurely at him.

"Yes?"

"I... Uh, you... You know how dangerous it is right now! So...!"

 _Damn it! Why is it suddenly so hot out here?!_ He thought in frustration, they were still in spring! Surely it was supposed to be at least a _little_ cold, right?!

"So...?" Ayano tried to help him finish, as he appeared to be in some sort of daze... Budo cleared his throat and shook his head immediately, jesus, what was up with him? That wasn't a mature move, if a small kiss affected him like that, then what kind of man was he?

"I thought that perhaps it... Might be safer if I walk with you from now on," he held himself from stuttering and watched the way her eyes widened, "I mean, not just from school, but other places like the grocery store. Wherever you are, you just call me and I'll come to escort you back, okay?" He said with a small smile, his cheeks still cherry red from before. Ayano pursed her lips and looked at the ground with worried eyes, escorting her home? That was quite inconvenient, but...

"What about your work? Wouldn't it be annoying and troublesome for me to call you every time I head out?" She asked curiously. Budo shrugged and looked at the sky as if there were far more important things anyway.

"I have afternoon breaks during my full-day hours, so if you call me during those breaks then that's fine. I don't think that you head out that much anyway, and if you did... I think that it'd be wiser to minimize them, because of the danger there is now." He spoke affectionately and Ayano easily spotted the worry and love in his eyes.

 _Nothing could happen to me, since I'm the murderer..._ She thought in amusement, _I'm far more dangerous than all the other students combined anyway._

"Thank you for worrying about me, senpai..." Ayano smiled and squeezed his hands, "I'll be sure to call you when necessary, but moderately as well... I really don't like troubling you..."

"That's no trouble at all," he whispered and leaned closer, "I'm just... I'm scared to lose you, is all, we just starting dating and I..."

"I know!" She laughed and pinched his nose teasingly, "I feel the same, but there's no need to worry so much, we'll see each other during the week anyway, so it's fine."

"Okay..." he smiled and leaned a bit closer, "Ayano, you know I..."

And just as he was getting bolder and bolder did the sounds of running footsteps make them both back away in realization. It was a matter of seconds before Mina's cheerful voice rang through their ears and alarmed both of the teens.

"Shishou! You forgot your... Training outfit..." The disciple's voice trailed off at the sight of both Budo and Ayano together and her brows immediately furrowed. She stared at that very familiar classmate of hers and wondered what she was doing along with Budo.

The boy in question smiled sheepishly and approached her, "A-Ah! Right, sorry to trouble you..." he said as he took his training outfit from her hands, and immediately; the girl questioned him.

"What were you both doing..." she spoke with a calm voice, trying to hide the hurt she felt. Budo nearly sighed at that sudden question, but answered calmly.

"We were just talking and I offered to walk her home, that's all there is." He was aware of Ayano's uneasiness in making their relationship public, so he made sure to fully calculate his words in order to not let any misunderstandings leak out. Mina Rai was a very smart girl, but he doubted even she could make assumptions from him simply talking with another girl.

Though it was as far as he went when it came from girls outside of the club... Hell, she remembered how that Aishi person came and asked for him while they were training, and she honestly didn't like it...

Noticing the look in Mina's eyes, Ayano decided that it was about time to leave. It was the look of a girl who was jealous, a girl who didn't want to hand her crush over... And she knew it far too well, because that look? She had it every time her senpai hang around with girls.

And so she tapped Budo on the shoulder and whispered that it was time that she left, to which he reluctantly nodded. He wanted to chase after her and escort her home but... Mina stood there and made it a problem, so he had no other choice but to comply.

Seeing the face he was making, Ayano carefully mouthed 'I'll call you' with a smile and made sure that Mina didn't notice. Realizing what was meant for him only, Budo smiled and nodded eagerly this time and watched with fascination her walking form.

He loved this girl deeply.

"...Shishou?" The martial arts girl called, worried of her master's dazed state, "Shishou? Shishou!"

"Huh?! Ah!" Budo snapped out of his reverie and looked at his disciple, "Yes, what is it?"

Mina looked at him with sorrowful eyes, what was his relationship with that girl? Why did he look so troubled already?

She didn't like it at all...

"Say, Shishou?" She spoke with her head lowered, "You... Wouldn't mind escorting me?"

"...Oh, uh... Sure..." Budo said hesitantly, he had wanted to escort Ayano instead, but it appeared that the situation changed quite unexpectedly. He wasn't going to argue with it, but a part of him couldn't help but be worried.

* * *

Ayano walked towards her dear home while humming cheerfully, she had a week to settle her plans and stalk her senpai freely without meddling students to worry about, a whole week to finally breathe and have fun. Really, things were going well for the teenage yandere!

But... That Budo, he turned out to be quite the clingy fellow, huh? Maybe it was just a passing phase due to the recent murders, but still... She had never thought that he would actually fall so deeply for her, considering they both met not so long ago, but oh... What could she say? Her romantic act was perfect, and it managed to do the trick just fine! By the time she'll use her ultimate plan to get senpai, Budo would be an extremely essential asset. The only thing she had to worry about was to keep their relationship a secret, and everything would go smoothly.

 _Speaking of ultimate plan, I saw senpai buy new underwear! I should hurry up tonight and steal a pair~_ She thought in total glee as she continued humming, her mind at ease. The walk had been calm and peaceful... Until a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around her waist unexpectedly.

"Mufuu mufuu~!" The person muffled with their head on her back, "You smell so good youuu~!"

Ayano turned in uneasiness, wondering what kind of creep would try assaulting a girl in broad daylight... but found her answer far sooner than expected when she saw a flash of green on her back.

"Gurin-sa..."

"Call me Midori!" The girl chirped yet again and snuggled further on Ayano's back, "Ahn! Ayano-senpai is so soft! I could practically melt on you right now..." she drooled on her waist and Ayano tried her best to gently brush her off.

"Midori-chan, please step aside," the taller girl said softly, Midori took the hint and stepped back with a large grin plastered on her face.

"Sorry! I just felt like groping you, since Haruka-senpai died, I haven't found someone quite as voluptuous as her, so I decided to stick with you!"

"Voluptuous? You think I'm..." Ayano trailed off then raised an eyebrow, "No wait, it's bad enough to just do that, Midori-chan... Why are you running around groping girls in the first place?"

Midori stuck out her tongue and rubbed the back of her neck in a sheepish motion, "Hehe! Just a small habit of mine, I like hanging around girls because they're so soft and they smell nice! Boys are all hard and unpleasant.. I don't like groping them."

"It doesn't matter who's pleasant or not, groping strangers is bad." Ayano warned and continued walking, "Besides, there are girls who are far more voluptuous than me."

Midori ran to catch up with the teenage yandere, "I know, I already tried hanging around with the Basu sisters, but they were mean and started calling me weird names like 'pervert' or 'hentai toad', so I backed off... Then I tried stalking Mai Waifu, but her fan club got mad and kicked me out!" She started rubbing her butt with a pout, "The boys were so rough, ugh... Why did they kick me on the butt anyway?"

Ayano nearly choked as she tried to hold her laughter, that girl was a weirdo alright... But strangely enough she didn't mind her tagging along, besides... She was weird too, in more ways than one.

"Oh Midori... I'm the last person that you want to grope, believe me..." she said with a small smile. Midori tilted her head and looked at her as if she was stupid.

"Why?! Ayano-senpai is the gentlest, most refined girl in the whole school! And your smell is the best too!" She squealed and hugged her tightly. Ayano laughed as she tried to pry the girl off again.

 _She really has no idea..._ She thought with a smile.

Little did both Budo and Ayano know, this week was going to be far more exciting than expected.

 **TBC.**

 **I know I know, Mina Rai isn't supposed to have a crush on anyone, but I need someone who loves Budo in order to stir some action, Taro isn't the only attractive guy in the game! But whatever, I hope this chapter was to your liking, and if possible... Could you all review? I miss the connection I had with my readers!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Alright, there's a small little thing I'd like to say before the start of this chapter, so hear me out, please.  
With school in the bunch of things that I should worry about, I'm afraid that the updates will gradually become slower and slower. There will most likely be month late chapters or more if studies get the best of me. Though I think I've been clear on that, I will **_**not**_ **drop my work, honestly, I won't. The chapters (from now on) would be updated weekly, or monthly, depending on the chores I'm given. So all I'm trying to say is...** _ **Don't worry!**_ **If you see the updates going slow, it's just good ol' D0T being busy with her life and problems, nothing more. If possible, despite the updates getting slow I'd still like some support. It's nice to come back once in a while and read your reviews, the more the merrier!**

 **With that said, this topic is closed. What's left now are a few short stories that have been requested, one being focused around a male yandere. If those get good reviews, then I might put those projects aside to make them bigger once I'm done with 'The Hero & The Psycho'.**

 **Please enjoy this chapter, and thank you for putting up with me.**

The Hero & The Psycho.

With everything going on in the present, Taro Yamada became lost. The murders, missing cases and all those awful news related to his female friends shocked him to no end, making the young senior question his own, measly luck.

His room felt awfully cold and sinister, somehow. The warmth and security that he used to feel whenever he entered his private space had long been gone, starting back from the first murder announced at his school. It was as if he was being watched by someone... As if a pair of dangerous, empty eyes looked out for him all the time, and that counted also when he walked the road home.

 _A stalker, maybe?_ He thought incredulously, _But that's... Well, it doesn't make much sense. If I was a girl, maybe, but I'm a guy... And I doubt girls would actually go through lengths to stalk a boy, that's just crazy._

Taro had never been one to worry much about other people's opinions, respectively. There were times when he just didn't care, being a past victim of bullying; the young senior had learned long ago that no matter how picky and cruel teenagers can be, life still moved on, and hope was just on the other side of the tunnel.

However, this saying couldn't really work out anymore, because it wasn't something trivial like bullying... It was actual murder, actual _deaths._ Feelings and hope didn't matter anymore; everything became a gamble, a matter of luck. The fact that it involved people that surrounded him, people that he cherished... Didn't help much at all. He was a sensitive guy when it came to his family and friends, much like Budo. Losing his precious classmates little by little like that gave him dark thoughts, thoughts that were very much alike his fears.

 _Either it's a curse, or a punishment._

Taro shook his head and dashed downstairs to drink something, he didn't have time to dwell on sinister matters like that. Going numb and scared wasn't an option; it wouldn't bring back Kokona and his other female friends either. The only positive thing he could do is stay calm, pray, and make sure to protect his family in the best of ways.

It was already dark outside, his parents were out working and his little sister was sound asleep. The lack of liveliness within the Yamada household had weighed his heart and sent shivers down his spine, because suddenly... That feeling invaded him again.

 _...I'm being watched..._

The young teen suddenly turned to look out the window, his eyes scanning the dark neighbourhood with forced concentration. That feeling of being constantly under surveillance always became stronger during night time, much to his discomfort. He wanted to believe that it was his mere imagination or perhaps his mind playing tricks on him due to the recent tragedies but...

"What if it's the murderer..." He spoke his thoughts aloud, his bottom lip quivering in fear and rage. "What if he's out there, mocking me, laughing at my despair?" His grip on the windowsill tightened while he looked further outside, searching for some kind of figure, anywhere!

"... Damn it!" He cursed in frustration, shut the window and closed the curtains. "Whoever this guy is... I won't let him hurt more people! I'll fight him, even if he's armed or strong or whatever...! I'll fight him with all my strength and make sure that there won't be anymore vic-"

"ONII-CHAN!" A voice shouted from upstairs, "It's past midnight, stop being so noisy and go to sleep!"

Taro looked up the stairs and found his little sister staring down at him with both angry and sleepy eyes, her bed ridden hair looked similar to a gorgon's, making her look all the more intimidating.

With a blush on his cheeks, the older brother sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck while apologizing, "Sorry, I'll go back to bed right now."

The young girl nodded once and went back to her room, shutting the door behind her. He sighed and made sure to double-check every window and door within the house to see if they were properly locked. His parents went out with their keys, so there wasn't a need to leave everything open. Besides, it wasn't a good idea to have the house on 'easy access mode', with the murder deal going on and such...  
Once he made sure that all the openings were locked, Taro ran up the stairs and back towards his room. Since there wasn't school tomorrow (or for the whole week), he figured that playing a bit of videogames wouldn't hurt and might ease his conscience, hopefully.

But just as he was about to turn on his console, he saw something questionable.

 _...? Did I leave my window open?_

With a hop, he stood up and looked down. His room was upstairs, on the second floor. The distance between the window and the ground surpassed 15 meters, it would be nearly impossible (or just very hard) to climb up, especially since the walls are very smooth.

Taro thought for a moment then concluded that he must have left the window open, surely. Yup, that was the best explanation, no way someone could have went in and...

... Was it just him, or did he also leave his underwear drawer open?

* * *

Ayano hummed in sheer happiness towards her house, a big smile plastered on her round, feminine little face. This night's harvest turned out to be quite easy, the fact that her senpai's parents worked late helped things up a lot!

The yandere high-schooler smiled as she sneaked a peak at the underwear she stole from her senpai's secret top drawer. It had become a habit to enter his house at night and grab a pair or two for her collection. Of course, she never intended to do weird things with them, the only purpose was to put them along with her other collectibles, on her senpai shrine... for good luck.

"I'll pray for his well-being tonight as well..." She sighed dreamily as she held her precious bag with care, "I read that giving away undergarments as offerings helped with fertility... Might be useful for when we get married." She giggled and swung both toilet plungers on her shoulder (it was thanks to them that she climbed up his window).

"Well... Since today was a productive day, I wonder what my plans will be for tomorrow?" Ayano thought aloud while looking at the dark sky, "I could go out and buy that camera to spy on senpai... Ah! But my budget for the month... Hm, doesn't matter, I'll just skip a few meals."

Things like that happened far too often and Ayano found herself eating less and less. When she'd see something nice on the internet or outside at a shop, she'd immediately want to buy it for her satisfaction. Her parents overseas sent her money monthly to pay the bills and eat full meals; however, being stubborn like she was, she often spent such money for... Let's say... Knives, ropes, pills, rat poison... Stuff like that, including things that might help stalking senpai without much difficulty.

This time it involved a surveillance camera that looked small enough to avoid being noticed, it was expensive, truly, but at least she would be able to keep an eye on her senpai at all times without risking to get caught. She had put some money aside from her monthly budget specially to install those cameras in his room, a project that would benefit her greatly.

 _I need a job, though..._ Ayano thought with a frown, _I can't keep skipping meals like this; I'll grow weak and wouldn't be able to get rid of vermin fluently. Guess I should go job-hunting tomorrow, or ask someone who's good on that matter._

Her thoughts then drifted back to Budo. He was one of the rare students who worked full-time during free days and occasionally on week-ends, if someone knew where to find a job, it was definitely him.

"Then I'll ask him tomorrow," she decided upon reaching her doorstep, "once I'll get that camera, I wouldn't need to break into his house and watch him sleep, so having some free time on my hands would be helpful."

All the while nodding, the teenage yandere entered her empty house for a good night's rest.

Tomorrow would be eventful.

* * *

Budo looked at the sun rising from atop the house's roof, his back lying comfortably down and his arms crossed behind his head. After an early morning jog, he always came to sit up there and just admire the scenery. It was a sight to behold, moments to cherish through the course of his life. The singing birds, the dogs barking and the sky warming up to a beautiful orange color were all worth the watch, worth the admiration.

"I'll never grow tired of this..." he whispered, amazed at everything around him. He had taken off his t-shirt after jogging for an hour; it had become so sticky with sweat that he couldn't exactly feel comfortable, and so took it off to remain bare-chested.

 _It's not like anyone would come by, at such an hour..._ He thought while wrinkling his nose, _besides, I'll just stay here for five more minutes then go back in to shower._

But his plans didn't go like he expected them to... Because Ayano suddenly appeared from out of nowhere down below, near his mailbox while holding a bento.

"Masuta-senpai?" She called, visibly confused at his attire and position on top of the roof. Almost immediately, the senior readjusted his appearance and jumped down with ease, his cheeks red with embarrassment.

"A-Ayano..." He stuttered, "What are you doing here so early in the morning? Didn't I tell you to call me whenever you head out?"

He obviously didn't mean what he was saying because he looked shy as hell, however, it was the least of Ayano's worries. All she had wanted to do was drop a quick lunch like last time with a small note at the bottom, nothing more... nothing less.

Though she hadn't expected to find him lying down carelessly on the roof... Shirtless.

Despite only having feelings for her senpai, Ayano was still a teenage girl with hormones. Being face-to-face with a shining muscular chest along with six-packs wasn't something that she could ignore, in fact, she stared at his mouth-watering appearance for a few seconds before cutting to the chase.

"I didn't want to bother you at such an hour, it's far too early and doing so would've been impolite towards both you and your family." She spoke with a refined smile, her mind slowly trying to side with reason. Budo knew that it was the logical thing to do, but still... He couldn't help but be worried, she was dear to him.

"I understand, I... I'm sorry for sounding like a nag so early in the morning," he apologized and finally took notice of the bento in her hands, "you made that for me?"

Ayano nodded and shyly looked at the small box, "Yes, and I also wrote a little something for you, but since you're already up... I guess that it doesn't matter anymore."

Something clicked and Budo suddenly remembered the other two lunchboxes he had in possession, "wait here for a sec!" He said quickly and entered the house. Ayano stood there, waiting patiently until he emerged from inside along with her two, very clean bentos.

"Sorry, I should have given them back sooner!" He apologized and handed them over, "I cleaned them up well, thank you for taking care of me."

Ayano took them and asked, "Was the lunch good?"

"Of course! It was delicious, I ate it whole."

"Hm, I see... That's good," she whispered and ripped off the small piece of paper she had stuck on the bottom of the lunchbox, "here, it's a little something I cooked for you in the morning, please eat it."

Budo took the bento from her hands and thanked her with a warm smile, he then looked at the small piece of paper she had ripped and asked; "Didn't you want to tell me something?"

"Yes, but..." She blushed and turned to look away, "I think it should wait until... Well, you fix yourself of course."

Realisation dawned on him spontaneously; the fact that he had remained half naked this whole time felt like nothing but a measly detail. Though he ought to admit, seeing Ayano respond to his state of dress made him feel... Proud? Bashful? Well, one of the two, he was happy nonetheless.

"I'm sorry; I'll go wear something right away. In the meantime, why don't you come in?" He offered in a friendly fashion. Ayano peeked at the open door and asked in the smallest of voices.

"Are your sisters awake?" It was a mere innocent question that hid no ill intent or meaning. However, Budo's mind began to drift and he started thinking of a certain possibility...

 _Could she be inquiring... Nah..._ He dismissed the thought as soon as it invaded his mind, "No, they're all asleep. Don't worry and just come in! I'll grab you something to drink."

Thankful for the privacy, Ayano kindly accepted the offer and excused herself in. She noticed with surprised eyes that his house looked clean, spacious and tidy. After learning about his six sisters, she thought that the whole place would look chaotic, or at the very least somewhat messy, but she was wrong.

There were a few girly-looking books on the coffee table along with some cheesy romance novels, all labelled as 'best-sellers' despite their intriguing titles. Ayano sat on the couch and began reading a few pages out of sheer curiosity.

 _'Momoka looked at her lover with expecting eyes, he had laid her down on the soft grass of the school's backyard with gentleness, love and affection. She knew what awaited her and complied by spreading her legs for her cute student, who was quick to take her. In mere seconds, her insides were filled with his mighty manhood, thrusting within her in eagerness and mindless lust...'_

"I hope you're okay with grape juice cause' it's all we go-AAAH!" Budo half-shouted, half-gasped at the sight of Ayano reading one of Shizuka's erotic novels. He immediately ran towards her and pried the book off of her hands, a deep blush on his cheeks. The teenage yandere merely blinked and stared at him with confused eyes.

"...? What's wrong, why are you acting flustered all of a sudden?" She asked neutrally, as if the book in question hadn't shocked or affected her in any way.

"Th-This isn't something that should've been on the table, I'm going to put it back at its place!" He declared while heading off towards somewhere, possibly to throw the book away... She wasn't sure. A few seconds later he came back, looking embarrassed and apologetic.

Ayano chuckled as she put her fist on her chin, "I'm guessing you got curious and started reading it too, huh? It was easy to figure it out, judging by his expression. Budo gave her a glass of grape juice with a confronted look, almost like he didn't want her to read his thoughts.

"... It was just a curious peek, nothing more. But I was wise enough to stop reading as soon as it reached a..." he gulped and looked away, "rather... Well um, you know!"

She took a sip of the juice with a teasing smile, "where's the fun in that? I thought those scenes were the whole point of the book."

Budo didn't want to talk about those much, especially with Ayano around. Shizuka had the awful habit to buy dirty romance novels whenever she would enter a bookstore, and for some odd reason, everybody loved them to a point where they became 'best-sellers'. In all honesty, the martial-artist never understood what captivated them so much, the story was basically just... sex. Sure, it starts off with either an adorable lonely woman or a scary, dominating office lady, but it always ends up with either lots of men, or lots of erotic stuff.

"I'm not a fan of those; I prefer story-oriented books more than anything else." He admitted while buttoning his shirt, "I do admit that they caught my interest at one point, when I was in middle-school, but I got past that right now." He revealed with a blush, his eyes looking downward and focusing on his buttons. Ayano laughed softly at the sight.

"Didn't we all? We're still teenagers even now, with natural feelings and hormones. Though I guess you're closer to adulthood, huh?"

Budo bit his lip in a sheepish motion, it was true... He was getting closer towards adulthood, but deep down he still felt waves of emotion whenever Ayano would engage on skinship. He had grown to be worried recently, for her touches (though gentle) made him feel agitated and bashful. The hormones were still present, and at times he wanted nothing more but to grab her, kiss her with passion and...

 _No! No, no! Those thoughts are impure! It's too soon! Thinking about her like that is bad, snap out of it, Budo!_

"Anyways, you wanted to tell me something?" he tried to appear nonchalant and calm, not a flustered mess.

Ayano nodded and began twirling her thumbs, "Yes, as you already know, my parents are working overseas and left the house under my care. They send me money on a monthly basis but it only covers up the fees and my meals." She shyly looked away as she tried adjusting her shirt, "I've been growing a lot lately, my clothes barely fit... Yet I can't seem to leave enough money to buy new outfits."

"... uh-huh..." Budo tried his hardest not to look at Ayano's chest, the shirt was quite tight... after all.

"Drama aside, my point is... I need you to help me find a job, if it's not too much trouble." She cut through the chase with a hopeful expression. The suddenness in her voice had surprised him, but he was quick to answer as well.

"A job, huh? Well that's easy; I know plenty of places that could need some help." He reassured her, "if you want, we could start looking for one this afternoon, at five, what do you say?"

Ayano smiled in thankfulness, "five is alright with me, thank you so much!" she suddenly tilted her head down with a blush, "I do wonder though... How would I ever repay you?"

Budo gaped, "Repay me? There's no need to repay me! You have every right to use me as you please, I'm your boy—" he immediately stopped to clear his throat, realising that his voice was loud. With a small sigh and a blush, the senior whispered what remained of the sentence, "... I'm your boyfriend..."

For a moment, he thought he saw Ayano's eyes widen with wonder and surprise. The grey spark he usually saw within her orbs had... Disappeared, leaving only a mindless black abyss.

She had stayed awfully quiet for the minute that followed before whispering, "Do you mean it?"

Budo wasn't sure if she was referring to her being his girlfriend or the job deal, either way he was confused.

"Um... Sorry?"

Leaving no room for further questions, Ayano stood up and walked straight towards Budo, still appearing awfully dull. She soon stood in front of him, her eyes looking down at his very familiar features. She wanted to curse, to murder whoever blessed him with the _same exact face_ as her senpai, she wanted to scream because whenever he said things that stirred feelings deep inside her heart, it made things even more difficult to bear.

Her eyes became suddenly gentler, "When you said that I have every right to use you as I please... Did you mean it?" her face got closer to his and Budo held himself back from blushing further.

"I... Of course I meant it!" He gave her an immediate and definite answer, his tone emitting honesty. Ayano felt like smirking, the blatant fool...

In a speed that got Budo impressed, Ayano sat on his lap, her knees on both sides of the sofa. She had trapped him between her legs and touched his forehead with her own, her hands on his cheeks in a forceful motion to look at her.

She had taken his breath away due to the intimacy of her actions, with her face being so awfully close to his... he didn't quite know what to do, or what to say, for that matter.

It wasn't a problem, however, because she spoke.

"Do you realise the weight of those words?" Her voice was husky, low and almost seductive. "Do you realise where that sentence could take you, Budo? What you just said... Is going to play you tricks in a near future..."

"W... What do you mean?" He half-whispered, feeling slightly dizzy. Ayano chuckled in amusement as she began caressing his cheeks, her fingers tracing the lines of his beautiful face.

"What I mean is..." she leaned closer and whispered near his ear, "that you've gotten yourself in a deep mess..."

"Wha—Nnn!" Budo bit his lip when he felt her nibble on his ear affectionately, the act sending him weird jolts all over his body. He wanted to ask her what she had meant by 'deep mess', but the teenage yandere had instantly jumped off away from him, an innocent smile on her face.

"I'm glad everything's settled, senpai! I guess I'll see you at five, then?" She turned around in a girly fashion, ready to head off. Budo remained dumbfounded for a few seconds before snapping out of his heated-state.

"W-wait! I'll walk you hom—"

"No need! I came with my bike," she hummed cheerfully while putting her shoes on, "I hope you'll enjoy the lunch I made you, I gave it my all this time."

"I will..." He whispered while looking at her back longingly, the wants and needs suddenly weighing on his shoulders. For a moment, he thought of hugging her and keeping her in his arms for a while... But it came off as awkward to him, the timing was bad and she had to leave. Come to think of it, he had to work as well.

"I'll be off now, bye-bye!" Ayano waved and ran towards the bike, her hair fluttering along with the wind. He waved back with a smile, his thoughts wandering back to that moment on the sofa, making him unconsciously touch the area she had nibbled on his ear.

Budo sighed as he felt the tightness of his pants; she had left him with a problem that had to be solved by taking a cold shower, much to his dismay.

The words that she had spoken before intrigued him more, though.

In the hour that followed, Ayano emerged from the drugstore along with a bag full of sleeping pills.

 **TBC.**

 **Short, freakin' chapter. Oh gosh, I'm sorry! But I had to cut it short because of studies and all the crap, if I didn't then I wouldn't have updated this in... Let's say, a week? Probably more... Yeah, a week, which sucks... Ouch.**  
 **So anyway! I don't have a clue when I'll update chapter 9, it could be in a week, it could be in two weeks... Could be in a month... But I won't go more than a month! I promise, here, let's pinky promise *extends little finger* there, all happy now, yes? *laughs* Well um, jokes aside, I'm glad of the feedback this story is getting, I'd like it if it continues that way! When I read those reviews, I just smile in sheer happiness, so keep it up!**

 **As for the requested stories, I'll be sure to add them either tomorrow or in 2 days. The requests have been piling up lately, so I'll put some rules on my profile soon enough.**  
 **All of you, take care and stay healthy!**


	9. Chapter 9

**(Hey, psst! This is the Fic's Inner voice, I'm here to tell ya... There's one heck of an A/N waiting ahead of you, and it's pretty damn-well important! So you should—No, scratch that... You** _ **MUST**_ **read it** **ALL!** **Otherwise things might end up getting confusing for you, well whatever... Not like I care if you might end up getting confused.)**

 **A/N:**

Hey guys! D0T here, I'd like to apologize for the late update! I feel like I've betrayed my pinky promise... Honestly, life just gets in the way sometimes, and there's sadly nothing that I can do to prevent it from interfering with my work, tsk. Well anyhow, I have important news, and yeah, I'm dropping the bold letters for this A/N because it's long and the bold letters bug could be triggered on the mobile version, so whatever. Please pay attention to those three, simple little details that I'd like to point out.

Alright, One: I think most of you saw yanderedev's latest rival video, right? Well, I figured that now that we know who the official rivals are, it pretty much means that I have some minor editing to do for just _one_ character, and that's the nurse whom I have named 'Akiko Kurenai' (quite a good name, too bad it can't be used... Oh well) I still don't have the time to rush back to that chapter and change her name, heck... I think I mentioned it on other chapters, so for now, her name will stay that way, she's pretty much the only 'official' rival that I've added to this story, so there's not much to edit, which is good for you and for me! Now, there's the deal with Kokona, which I've sadly learned through yanderedev's video that she's no official rival, but a guinea pig... Truth to be told, I never intend to rename her after the rival she's based off of, or swap her story in the future. To me, Kokona will always be an 'official' rival, in this fic at least, because she's been putting up with too much crap (I've killed her far too many times already, she deserves credit) so yeah, she's official in 'The Hero & The Psycho'.

That's the first point about the whole 'rival deal', now there's point Two: THE UPDATES! Okay, so when I said that I'll do my best to update monthly... Gosh, I'm sorry but I was wrong, I miscalculated everything. I've been given an extremely tight schedule and I can't go back now, hell... I pretty much have NO LIFE AT ALL now! This is a huge dilemma, since I wanted to finish my story quickly, guess I can't... Not for a while at least, but trust me, everyone, I'll do my best to write as frequently as I can! I've been literally keeping my phone next to me at all times so I could spot a Fanfiction notification coming from my e-mail. Believe it or not, but I read every review that I'm given, I acknowledge every follower/favourites I get (D0T Senpai pretty much notices all of you) and I get prouder day after day, because it's the work I've put all my effort on, and I sincerely HATE IT when I disappoint or when I don't reach your expectations... So if this update turned out to be late or anything, I'm truly sorry.

Now for the interesting and Third Point: My friend (who is a faithful reader like you) came to me recently and said: "Hey, D0Tty! I just read your latest chapter and I've been wondering when you'll finally make Martial-Arts hottie and Yandere creepy have a _Bow Chika Bow Wow_ moment! You've teased me (and your readers) too much, so please, tell me the 'RATED M' thingy isn't a joke and PUT SOME ACTION IN ALREADY! *screams and shakes D0T*"  
... Alright, this is something I haven't mentioned (but should be pretty obvious after reading the first chapter) yet I'll try to be more direct. Yes, this fic is rated **M,** yes there'll be **GORE,** and yes... There'll be **LEMONS** and **LIME** in future chapters, so no more confusion on that matter, I hope.

That's it for this HUGE A/N, sorry it took your while. I apologize yet again, and I hope that you'll enjoy this chapter... Even if it's short because I have **NO TIME AT ALL, UGHH!**

The Hero & The Psycho.

Mina Rai stared at the waitress uniform she had been given with annoyed eyes, the frilly material and flashy yellow-ish color hadn't pleased her at all. Ever since she became a high-school student, she wanted to take part in a 'not-so-serious' job that could boost her pocket money, but damn... Life always went in the wrong direction!

 _It's been a month since I started this job... Since I started wearing this monstrosity, why the heck am I disgusted by it now?_ She thought as she started undressing, _Oh yeah, it's because Shishou called me and said that he'll pay me a visit... And he'll see me wearing THIS!_

Her mind cried out in disgust the moment she recalled her small discussion with Budo on the phone. He had told her in the happiest of voices that he would come during the afternoon to find a job for a 'friend', and asked for her help... She agreed without a second thought and said that it would be no problem at all! Because come on, who would refuse Budo Masuta? A crazy girl, that's for sure!

... But she forgot a rather... Well, minor detail.

"I look atrocious..." She muttered as she looked at her reflection on the mirror. Her uniform felt far too big and far too girly to suit her, and it made her cringe, _hard._ Mina had agreed to work there because they paid their workers handsomely. The customers were all regulars and nice people as well, who never really minded her clumsiness at first. She had foreseen the possibility of passing by a few students from her school, but never minded that thought. The cafe was already pretty secluded too, so the chances were slim, really.

It just so appeared that Budo knew that she worked there... Because that idiot of Sho Kunin blew her cover!

"Can't I fix this?!" Her eyebrows furrowed and she tried her hardest to adjust the outfit, everything made her look fat and unattractive, (or so she thought) and she wanted nothing more but to somehow sink on the ground and never surface back, because god damn it, her Shishou, the one and only martial arts master: Budo Masuta, was coming over there, in that hellish cafe and was about to _see_ her, in the worst state of dress!

"UGH!" Mina finally sighed in exasperation and decided to give up, "So what if he sees me wearing this thing? It's just what the name implies, a _uniform._ Meaning it's obligatory, and that there's nothing I could do about it!"

With a nod and a huff, Mina dashed downstairs and towards the door, ready to start an earnest day of work. Her shishou wasn't the kind of person that would judge people or laugh at them, so why bother worrying? In fact, she should be happy that he asked her for a favour!

Yup, she truly _should_ be.

* * *

Meanwhile...

Budo wiped some sweat off of his forehead with his arm, desperately trying to remain concentrated despite all the oil on his hands. He had been trying to fix the same bloody car for over a week now, and somehow its owner would still come and complain that it's leaking, much to his horror and annoyance. He hated having to come in the garage and notice that same old Volvo every time... Gosh, it felt like it _wanted_ to be repaired by him.

"Remind me why we haven't killed the guy who drives this poor thing," Budo spoke angrily, his back bent to have better access of the car's open hood. His boss, (an old bearded man) shrugged and continued smoking on his cigarette, seemingly unfazed by the teen's endless rants and complaints.

"Cut the lad some slack, he just had his driving license." The older man shrugged and continued reading the newspaper, "Besides, he makes our business work, we should be thankful that stupid people like him who can't drive exist."

Budo bit his inner jaw and rolled his eyes, it wasn't something that surprised him. His boss, though loving cars just as much as him, pretty much preferred money over anything and everything. Having multiple tasks and work to do equalled winning plenty of cash and potential clients, despite their garage being seemingly small and unknown.

"I know, but still... His father game him this car, he should treasure it, even if it's crappy." Budo spoke slowly, trying to focus on the task at hand. It was an awful way to start the day, usually he wouldn't end up coming to work so early to change oil filters for a car he fixed more than five times. But things do turn out unexpectedly in life, so who was he to complain? He still loved his job, and it paid surprisingly well.

His boss; Ichiro, stopped looking through the newspaper to set his gaze on the teen. He had been aware of Budo's family circumstances and often pitied him, he could tell the lad yearned for some fatherly love every once in a while, but didn't comment on it. Having to witness all these other boys of his age acting like spoiled brats made it difficult to bear, for they had no idea how lucky they were.

Truly, he figured that Budo would have actually been happy to be given a car, even if it was crappy, like he pointed out.

"Well..." Ichiro shrugged, "If you think about it in a certain way, I guess he keeps throwing his car in the garage simply _because_ it's a gift from his father."

"That's stupid and childish... I bet he wanted a Ferrari or something," Budo sighed then suddenly cursed when some oil splattered on his face. Ichiro laughed and threw him a handkerchief, to which the young teen took and cleaned himself with.

"You offended the car, I believe!" The older man laughed, Budo didn't find it funny at all.

"This doesn't work... Hand me the wrench and wire cutters, please."

Ichiro nodded and threw him the tools he needed, then noticed a few small figures peeking from outside the garage. He curiously approached them with both his eyebrows raised, wondering what a bunch of young girls would want from a car repair shop.

"Hello, may I help you?" He offered, still looking quite sceptical though. The three young girls jumped at his appearance and backed away while fidgeting.

"Um, n-no... We were just..." A particular petite girl glanced with a blush towards Budo's working figure and shook her head, "It's n-nothing."

Ichiro, not being the oblivious kind of man, figured everything out with a smirk. _I thought I'd heard gigglin' these past few weeks, so the lad really is a popular one, eh?_

It wasn't surprising that Budo caught some attention. Any girl would've glanced at least twice towards his direction; because _come on!_ They couldn't possibly ignore a sweat-drenched, hard-working muscular 18 year old boy in broad daylight! That was simply crazy! Furthermore, because it somehow ended up being such a hot and heavy day, Budo had settled with a black tank-top that clung on his muscles, hence transforming him into a woman-magnet.

The attention wasn't a bad thing, but if they weren't paying... Then he had to complain.

"Sorry to burst your bubbles, ladies. But this is a garage; we fix vehicles, and only vehicles! Sure, we get hot and oily during our work but—"

The girls didn't let him finish his sentence and immediately excused themselves, leaving no room for arguments. Ichiro stared at their running figures with confused eyes, wondering what could have scared them off. He turned around and nearly jumped when he found Budo's tall figure right alongside him. Well, there was his answer.

"Jesus Christ, boy! What's up with you?! Sneaking up on me like that..."

Budo raised an eyebrow, "whatever do you mean? I don't sneak, that's cowardly! I just thought I'd seen those girls somewhere..." He remarked while wiping the oil off of his hands. Ichiro snorted and lit another cigarette.

"Well, these are the girls who frequently visit you. They seem to hold a soft spot for your... Err, _physique._ " He gestured weakly at the teen's chest. Budo furrowed his brows and looked at his body, as if he clearly didn't understand what that old geezer was rambling on about. Surely, he looked like a normal 18 year-old boy, right? Where could all that attention come from anyway?

Deciding that it wasn't important, Budo undid his ponytail and poured some cold water on his head. He had fixed most of the car's important parts, so he basically had some more free time during the afternoon. All he had to do was dash back home and take a long, _long_ shower to get rid of the smell. Then, by the time he'd be done, he would call Ayano and help her find a job, like promised.

Just as he was about to change clothes did a tall, orange-haired man enter the garage, his face stern and... somewhat ferocious. Ichiro looked at the intriguing man while appearing completely nonchalant; it wasn't the first time intimidating men stepped foot within his garage.

Seeing that his boss wouldn't move an inch, Budo decided to approach the man and greet him.

"Hello! How may I help you, sir?" he spoke in a friendly fashion, trying to ignore his grumpy boss. The customer(?) looked around their repair shop for a moment, and Budo swore that he saw his face somewhere before... Yet he couldn't quite remember it well.

"Yes, I was wondering if you sold used parts in here," he gave the teen a small piece of paper containing the names of various parts. Budo scratched his chin and analyzed the list for a few seconds, then turned to ask Ichiro.

"Um, sir—"

The older man angrily threw away his newspaper and snatched the list off of Budo's hands, "Fine! I'll look, just wait for a bit..." he grumbled and went on the back of the store. Budo gave their customer an apologetic look, to which said man replied with a shrug of his own.

"I'm sorry, he had a rough morning." Budo apologized.

"No, it's fine." The man waved it off as if it was nothing, then looked at Budo with interested eyes. "By the way, have I seen you before? You seem to be awfully familiar..." He remarked. Budo's eyes widened, _so I wasn't just imagining things, I did see him somewhere!_

The teen thought long and hard. Where could it have possibly been? His mind wandered off way back, trying to decipher a few events in the past.

 _Orange hair... Angry, misjudged eyes... Tsundere...?_

It came to him like a hurricane, and he dropped his hands to his sides with a look that screamed nostalgia.

"Mister... Najimi?!" He shouted, completely shocked at his appearance. The orange-haired man looked at him for a few moments in thought. Budo rolled his eyes and pointed at himself. "Don't you remember me? I'm Budo Masuta, the boy who used to be your neighbour!"

Realization dawned on Najimi almost immediately, now _that_ explained why the lad's face looked so familiar. In no time at all, he gave the younger boy a fatherly hug.

"Dear lord! I barely recognized you, Budo! Puberty really did its job, eh?" He teased while ruffling his hair. Budo laughed heartily and shrugged it off, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"It's been such a long while... Did you all come to visit?" He asked with a gentle smile. Najimi shook his head and grinned.

"Nope! Actually, we've just moved back in the neighbourhood! Only a few houses away from yours, Budo-kun."

Budo felt like his jaw was about to drop. In that very moment, on that same exact spot, memories from his childhood flooded his entire being. Extremely painful memories that he wished never to experience again. Everything involved around a certain petite figure, orange twin-tails and a very, _very_ dishonest personality.

 _Gods, no..._

"Um..." Budo gulped and looked at the ground as if it was moving, "Is, uh... Is Osana—"

"My daughter? Oh yes, she's doing well! In fact, she's going to enter your high-school right after your break is over."

Clearly, her father hadn't heard of the rumours and murders within the school grounds, otherwise he would've changed his mind. But Budo wasn't going to bring up that subject, the harm was done, it was already too late.

"I see, that's good, I suppose." He mumbled and turned to look for Ichiro. The martial-artist didn't hold a grudge against Osana Najimi's father, in fact, he held deep respect for him. Whenever the young trio would play (Osana, Taro and Budo) he would come out and join them or invite them for dinner. He always looked strong and intimidating, but it wasn't something that bothered the bunch. He had also been a good friend towards Budo's father, when he was alive.

 _Pity Najimi-san's daughter turned out to be a selfish brat._ He remembered with a shudder.

Najimi suddenly patted Budo on the shoulder, startling him. "I just thought of something nice! Why don't you go and show Osana around the town? It's been a while since we came, plenty of things must have changed."

Budo looked at the man as if he had grown a second head. Him? Show _Osana_ around the town? No way...

He forced himself to smile, "I'm sorry, sir! But I have plans for the afternoon, I'm meeting up with a friend—"

"A friend!" The orange-haired man chirped, "Is it by any chance Yamai-kun?" He inquired, and Budo raised an eyebrow.

"Who?" He asked, confused. He didn't know anyone named 'Yamai'.

"You know... That shy little boy, Yamai... Or was it Yamu? No, wait... it was something along the lines of Yamado... Or was it Yamagi?"

"Yamada?" Budo corrected and Najimi pointed at him with his index finger.

"Yes, that one!" He looked triumphant. The teen gnawed his inner-cheek.

"No, sadly I'm not meeting up with him... Actually, it's someone whom I've met only very recently and—"

He cut him off, again. "Even better! It might be a chance for my cute daughter to make some new friends! Take her with you, I'm sure she'll have lots of fun. I trust you, Budo-kun!"

And just like that, he left as quickly as he had showed up. Ichiro, who had emerged from the back of the shop, stared at his client's departing figure and shouted.

"Hey! What about those used parts you asked for?!" His voice echoed within the garage and Najimi waved it off casually.

"I'll come by later!" He spoke with a smile, "Budo-kun, be sure to pick her up at four!" He remembered the teen and finally disappeared from their sights. Ichiro cursed loudly as he threw the used parts back on the box, wondering why he had bothered taking them. Then, he noticed Budo's very grim expression and raised an eyebrow.

"What's up? You look like you've seen a ghost..." He commented, clearly amused by the teen's traits. Budo groaned loudly and covered his face with his hands.

"My plans for today are ruined..." He sighed in mild-annoyance.

"And why's that?"

Budo bit his lip and took off his shirt, "I was supposed to meet up with my girlfriend, but turns out I have to escort an old 'acquaintance' of mine instead."

Ichiro whistled, impressed. "Girlfriend, eh? Didn't hear that before..." He spoke with a grin. Considering Ichiro knew nothing about Akademi-High and its students, he figured that it didn't really count that he knew. His and Ayano's relationship still stayed a secret.

"We started dating a few days ago," he wore his clean shirt and sighed, content, "she's such a kind, well-mannered girl, really."

"And you two were about to go on a date?" Ichiro's grin became wider, but Budo ignored it.

"No... I think? I was just going to help her find a job... I can't, now that I have to escort... ugh..." He realized yet again exactly _who_ he was going to spend the day with and felt down. Why did it have to be Osana? He could have taken it well if it weren't for her, but seriously... Why _her?!_ Of all the long-lost childhood friends, it just had to be Osana Najimi, the girl who practically ruined a good half of his childhood!

"Mind telling me what's so bad about that 'acquaintance' of yours?" Ichiro mumbled. Budo shook his head and grimaced. He thought for a while... Then finally answered.

"I just had a crush on her when were little, but she humiliated me and made my life a living hell... Basically, she used me to get closer to my other friend, Taro Yamada." He sighed and looked away, "Hard times... But oh, I don't care about that anymore, you know?" The look he gave off was almost gentle, "Because I have someone far better now."

Ichiro nodded and resumed reading the newspaper, "Well, you could always go with your girlfriend too, it's not like that bratty ex-crush of yours would ruin the mood."

"Err..." Budo thought for a moment, "I'm not sure..."

"Think about it, it'll be like killing two birds with one stone. You escort that orange muscle-mass's daughter, and spend some time with your girlfriend too."

The martial arts master pondered on that for a while then took out of his pocket his cell phone.

* * *

Ayano Aishi hummed with a smile as she prepared Budo's heart-warming 'dinner'. Every ingredient had been put on the counter; ready to be used to her favour, for today was going to wound up being an important day... A day where her plan would finally come to light.

With a smile that hid sadism and mischief, Ayano took from her bag two sleeping pills and played around with them while using her fingers, looking with fascination at the liquid inside. A simple drop of said liquid could make anyone sleep for hours to come, surprisingly. All she had to do was to break them open and pour its contents into his meal, and then...

 _Oh joy..._ She giggled diabolically as she thought of ways to drag him home, tie him up-

But her phone suddenly ringed and broke her reverie. Ayano took it and realized with amazement that the caller was, in fact, Budo.

 _Well, speak of the devil..._ She thought as she answered, "Hello? Budo-kun?"

"Ah, Ayano! Sorry for calling you so suddenly, are you busy?" He asked ,sounding somewhat breathless. Ayano raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Were you running?" She asked in intrigue. Budo gasped on the other side of the line, and she rephrased herself, " _Are_ you running right now?"

"Uh..." He coughed for a bit and slowed down, "Yes, Yes I am..."

"Mmm..." She nodded to herself, but didn't ask exactly _why_ he was running. A part of her, though, knew, yet she didn't speak up her mind. "Alright, and to answer your question, I'm not exactly busy." Her thumb and index finger pinched on the pills, almost playfully.

"Ah!" Budo laughed a bit, "That's good! Because I'm actually running towards your house right now..."

 _I knew it,_ her inner-self sighed in annoyance, but she didn't sound like it. "Really now? Well, were you that eager to see me then? I assure you, though, that waiting until five wouldn't have killed you."

"I... I know, but you see, something came up, and... Ugh!" She heard someone curse on the other side of the line and assumed that Budo nearly bumped into someone. While rolling her eyes, she added more pressure to the pill, intending to pop them open and pour the liquid on the food.

"You were saying?" she sang teasingly and Budo laughed in embarrassment.

"Yes, well... Things happened, I met with a long-lost neighbour, and he suggested I show his daughter around." He stopped for a few seconds to recover his breathing, "And, *pant* he's been so persistent that I... *pant* didn't really refuse him so—"

"So she's coming along with us, eh?" Her voice sounded normal, because frantically, it didn't really bother her. Surely, it was probably just a childhood friend of his, so it mattered not.

"Yeah, I'm... I'm really sorry about that..." He apologized and she assumed that he continued running.

"No, it's fine. I don't mind, though I'm curious to know who she is..." Ayano tried to sound a little jealous to tease the martial-artist. Budo, appearing to have taken the bait, answered almost immediately.

"She's just a childhood friend of mine, and Yamada's..." He spoke reassuringly and Ayano twitched, causing the pill to suddenly pop. The liquid poured on her fingers, but she immediately washed her hand and moved away from the food.

"A friend of..." she gulped and carefully thought of the right words, "A childhood friend of yours... And Yamada-senpai's?" She asked slowly, and he clicked his tongue meaning yes.

"Yeah, she moved out a long time ago, but came back, permanently, I think." He commented and sighed loudly, "I'm not fond of her, really. She's extremely selfish and... Complicated, that's why I want to spend lots of time with you, before she'll come and... Ruin our day together."

Ayano pursed her lips and looked at the kettle on her left, "I see... So you don't really like her?"

"No..." he chuckled, "I'm not the one she likes, Yamada-kun is the guy she has feelings for, so don't you worry!"

Her hands balled into fists and she saw red again, _Another rival... Another job to be done..._ She thought in annoyance, her eyes locking on the bag full of sleeping pills. _Guess my plan has to wait._

"Ayano?" He spoke her name on the other side of the line, wondering why she had become so awfully silent. Realizing of her current state, Ayano snapped out of her daze and tried to think of various ways to murder that new, intruding little pest.

"Budo... Are you still far away?" She whispered slowly. Budo paused for a moment, seemingly in shock for a while, before answering.

"Yeah, but not by much. I think I could get there in—"

"Please hurry," her voice sounded feminine, husky and... Desperately in need of his affection, "I want... I want to see you, and spend lots and lots with you."

"...! I'm... I'm coming!" He too, sounded very eager and in need of her affection. Ayano smiled to herself as she hid the sleeping pills in a drawer.

"Come quick, senpai." She whispered one last time before hanging up, and going upstairs towards her room. The moment she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she knew that her feelings would take over.

She had to calm down, or else she'd kill that girl right in front of Budo.

"Breathe... Breathe..." She kept repeating, inhaling and exhaling all the while. "You were stupid to think that the nightmare was over, there'll be more... More rivals, more blood, and more nuisances. Senpai can't be yours, not now... Not until you've learned how to control this side of yours..." She spoke to herself and tried to calm the rising heat within her body. Ayano knew how fierce, how lifeless and cold her eyes were right now. It was no surprise, because when she had killed Kokona, she thought it to be the end... That no other girl would ever roam around her senpai.

Damn it, she had been so completely wrong.

"No matter, no matter!" She grinned evilly, "I'm the queen of murder, I can easily get rid of anyone at anytime. That pest? Well! She'll die as soon as I get my hands on her, and no one would ever know~!"

While licking her lips, Ayano quickly changed into something more presentable, because obviously, Budo would come by... That cute, worthless little puppy, whom she wanted to torture and use all the time.

Ayano sighed and noticed that she was still shaking in anger and jealousy; she needed to calm down and regain some sanity... Her hand ran down towards her skirt and she felt the wetness of her panties with a frown. It always took a moment of sheer, yandere anger to make her feel so in _heat._

She bit her lip.

 _I need to either kill, or..._ Her mind wandered towards Taro Yamada's picture, her beloved Taro Yamada... Seeing his face always helped things up...

But then, someone knocked on her door, and she smiled.

 _Well, the boy who looks like him might also do the trick._

 **TBC.**

 **Alright, didn't like this chapter much because it was uneventful. But I promise that I'll kill off Osana—I MEAN! That I'll add more action in the next chapter! It's going to get steamy and bloody! *laughs like a maniac* But yeah... I'm sorry again, I was so late with this update and I wanna' try and... Make it up to all of you. Pity, I have no idea when I'll be able to update the next chapter, but believe me, I'll do my best! Please review, tell me what you think, and I'll read it!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I am extremely sorry for the late update. I always knew that it'll take me a while before I finish my exams, but never before had I thought that I'd receive SO much support in my absence. Over 100 reviews/favs/follows! I am so very overjoyed, you guys have no idea! It was such a shocker and a pleasant surprise, really, I can't thank you enough!**

 **Now, since I'm back, I'll try to update frequently before my departure. I also made a twitter account (decided to evolve for once) if you guys want to follow me and the progression of every chapter. Link is on my profile.**

The Hero & The Psycho.

Budo briefly wondered, as he ran towards Ayano's house, if he had ever been this impatient.

Years of training as a martial artist had taught him the art of patience, of serenity and perfect balance. He had known in his entire life that stress and anxiety would only hurt him physically and mentally, that it'll result in further problems and lesser productivity. If he had thought things through before actually rushing like a madman, maybe then his mind wouldn't have gone to mush.

Because all he was thinking about was Ayano.

 _"I want… I want to see you, and spend lots and lots with you."_ She had said, the words echoing again and again in the young, martial artist's mind.

Damn!

He thought while breathing heavily, barely feeling his legs, _when you ask me like that… How can I say no?_

It had taken him about 10 minutes of intense running in order to reach Ayano Aishi's doorstep. With the run being somewhat messy and painfully long, but it was; however, completely worth it according to him.

Budo ran a hand through his hair and started sniffing his arm pits, afraid if he was starting to smell. So far, everything was okay and it didn't seem like he looked too weird. He should have taken a shower before coming, but time didn't do them any favors on that matter, and he was more afraid of spending it more with Osana anyway.

At least, with Ayano he had an excuse to arrive late.

And so, while summoning every ounce of courage in his body, Budo inhaled sharply and knocked on the door, careful to not be too rough with his actions.

He paced around nervously, waiting for perhaps what could be 5 minutes at most, until the door opened before him; revealing the breath-taking sight of Ayano Aishi, dressed in neat formal wear.

"Ah…" Budo uttered, at loss for words. He had always known that Ayano was classy and too clean for her own good, but actually seeing her appear so pretty and mature made the matter completely different.

"Hi there, Masuta-senpai!" She waved with a smile, Budo noticed with extreme interest that her lips looked glossier than usual, indicating her use of makeup. He gulped and averted his eyes away from the tempting sight, trying to _at least_ show some self-restraint.

"Un, Hello! Uh, sorry for running over here unexpectedly, it was um… Complicated, really." He spoke softly as he rubbed the back of his neck; feeling like his whole body was in heat. The run had truly been decent in terms of exercise, but it had ruined his tidy appearance, unfortunately.

He briefly wondered if he still reeked of oil.

Ayano though, tilted her head at him in a curious fashion; "It wasn't unexpected, you called me. Besides, I was the one who asked you to hurry." Her voice lowered to a small whisper as she smiled at him, "and I'm grateful that you did."

Budo felt himself blush, "it's… no big deal…" he looked away then finally decided to gesture at her outfit, "You look really nice, by the way."

Ayano blinked then stared down at her clothes, "Oh, really? I thought I'd look like some kind of old lady with these. Even so, I'm happy that you think otherwise."

The martial-arts master took this as an opportunity to scrutinize her further. She was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt with golden buttons and black Capri pants, her shoes were black as well, with only 2cm heels. So far, that outfit didn't scream luxury, but it was still very modest and clean, giving off vibes of what her personality is like.

He figured it was the thing she was going for, since she was about to find a job.

Nevertheless, he found her to be beautiful.

"To be fair, you look amazing in everything. Even if you had opened the door wearing a trash bag, I would still have seen you as pretty." He grinned boyishly. Ayano laughed at that and lightly tapped him on the shoulder as she closed the door.

"Oh, stop it you! Making me blush all the time…" she jokingly waved a hand at him, and he laughed along. The day was till young and Budo wanted to spend it with Ayano mostly, forgetting his usual daily worries.

As they started walking, Ayano decided to hold his hand; much to the martial artist's surprise. When he looked at her, she smiled and simply rested her head on his shoulder, appearing to be at ease.

That simple act of love was enough to warm his heart, and so he squeezed her hand back and proceeded to walk with a smile on his face.

In the meantime, he thought of all the possible available jobs in his head. So far, there were five of which he was sure of, and two that were uncertain. The arcade was the closest to her house, and so he decided to start from there.

He wasn't sure if Ayano would be willing to work in such a childish place, and he was honestly worried, but… It didn't hurt to try, right?

 _I heard that it pays students well, and she said she was more than willing to find any kind of appropriate job. This should be fine._

They soon reached their destination and Ayano immediately brightened up at the sight of the arcade.

"This is it?" She asked, more than a little excited. Budo's eyebrows rose in surprise, but he remained somewhat calm as he nodded.

"Yes, I figured it'd be easier to start from here, since it wasn't far." He rubbed the back of his neck and side-glanced towards her direction; "It might seem… Well, not that good but I heard they paid well and—"

"Are you kidding? It's more than just alright!" Ayano squeezed Budo's hand and smiled, "I love this place, I come here every now and then to have fun. It baffles me how I missed the 'help wanted' sign but, if there's a job here then I'm willing to take it!"

Pleased with her answer, Budo finally sighed; appeased. All he wanted was for Ayano to get a job she was comfortable with, and so far the arcade seemed like a safe bet.

The arcade in itself wasn't too big, but not too small either; it looked just right; with the proper amount of colors and lights. The convenience of it being near her house was also a great bonus.

There was no way such a great opportunity would pass!

And so, with that thought in mind; Budo gently squeezed Ayano's hand as he gestured for them to go in. Even from outside, they could hear the countless sounds emitting from the arcade machines as well as the youngsters' joyful chatter.

The first thing they saw was the crowd. Lots of people were already playing inside; some were even waiting for their turn excitedly. Be it either small kids or young adults, everyone was having fun.

The sight wasn't half-bad and Budo felt like he could see Ayano working there without worry.

"I really missed this place, I almost forgot how lively it was." She suddenly spoke, a childish grin illuminating her features. "I've always been so busy with studies lately, it's so refreshing to come back."

"I bet," Budo agreed, then threw a remorseful glance towards her direction; "I really wish we could play a few games, but sadly… Time isn't giving us any favors."

Ayano nodded, he was right. While she did want to have a bit of fun in the arcade, she had to put in consideration Budo's efforts and appointment(?) with Osana later. She never met the girl, but she had a feeling that she was a pest already.

"Yeah, I know… Sorry, I got so excited." She stuck out her tongue playfully and Budo caressed her back affectionately.

"Don't worry; we'll have plenty of time to have fun later! I promise."

Her answer was a smile as gentle as his own, and Budo once again thanked the skies to have blessed him with such an understanding beauty.

As soon as their small moment ended, Budo heard a frustrated yell come from the prize booth's direction, making him jump slightly on his spot. Both surprised and curious, the duo dashed immediately towards the source, confusion apparent in their faces.

"You're such a pain in the ass, ugly! I already told you, I don't have more coins in my pockets!" A young boy, no older than twelve, was shouting quite obviously at the lady behind the counter, paying no mind to the two curious teens eying him.

"Does it look like I care? It says clearly here, you need 200 tickets for this prize. You only have 195, it's not enough!" The young girl retorted with just as much annoyance, her green hair swaying left and right according to her movements.

Ayano realized who she was, and therefore proceeded to poke Budo on the shoulder, effectively gaining his attention.

"Senpai, that girl—"

"It's only five measly tickets! No need to be so damn greedy!" The boy spoke louder, pushing his huge pile of tickets towards the one and only Midori Gurin, who appeared to have lost her temper as well.

"Look here, you twat! I'm not the one who decides how much tickets this game costs, it's written here; _very clearly,_ that you need 200 of em'. You're short on five, why don't you just play one round somewhere and win them like everyone else?!"

"I don't have any coins left, you witch!"

"Ohohohoho!" Midori laughed while putting a hand on her hip, "that's not my problem! Nor is it anyone else's! I've been generous enough so far, don't abuse of my mighty kind—"

She stopped, immediately, when she took notice of both presences staring oddly at her. The first one, of course, being Ayano; who appeared to look surprised at finding her work in that place. The second being Budo, who seemed to have been surprise as well.

"Senpai?" Midori spoke, quietly . Her wide eyes focused on the teenage yandere. Ayano tilted her head and smiled politely.

"Hello, Midori—"

"SENPAI!"

In a split second, Budo saw a flash of green dash towards their direction, looking potentially harmful for both of them. His reflexes kicked in and he immediately grabbed Ayano by the shoulders to push her out of harm's way… Resulting in Midori fall face-first on the ground.

"ITTAI!" The gamer girl uttered in pain, holding her nose with a grimace. "That seriously hurt! Why did you do that, Budo-senpai?!"

"I… Eh, um…" Budo scratched his nose in sheepishly, he didn't want to admit that Midori's sudden dash startled him, or looked potentially harmful.

Ayano spared Budo a glance before helping Midori back up, careful not to harm her further. The shorter girl gave her a goofy grin before stuffing her head between the yandere's breasts, much to both Budo, and the boy's shock.

"Uh, Midori…"

"I missed you, Ayano-senpai! It's been so long, I almost forgot how good you smell!" She whispered in delight, snuggling further on the taller teen's chest. That particular act made Budo a tad uncomfortable, but he decided to remain silent nonetheless and conceal his blush.

Ayano caressed Midori's hair while chuckling lightly, "I'm happy to hear that, Midori. Unfortunately, I didn't come to chat…"

Midori backed away, looking up at Ayano with puppy eyes; "Eh? Senpai didn't come to see me?"

She shook her head, "No, I'm afraid not… To be honest, I didn't even know you worked here."

"Really?" The green gamer pondered on that, "I swore I mentioned it in one of our conversations though… Oh, who cares! The important part is that you're here! With…" She looked for a long moment towards Budo before glaring at him, "Hey hey, why are you with Budo-Senpai?"

 _Ah… Kuso._

"Uhm…"

"I've seen both of you talk together often; you seem to be on good terms…"

"Ah, no… In truth we—"

"You also waited for him once, if I recall…"

"That was—"

"He also seems to look very happy when he talks to you…"

"N… Wait, what?" _This is getting out of hand, how does she-?_

"Oh my god… Don't tell me!"

 _Oh no-_

"Are you guys dating?!"

And so in the heat of the moment, when Ayano was clearly about to deny that fact in fear of a rumor arising, Budo came in between them quickly, his resolve clear.

"She's my disciple, I train her." He said, his voice dead-serious and his look intense. Midori looked up, somewhat having trouble staring him straight in the eye. She straightened herself and pouted angrily, appearing to be annoyed at the difference in height.

"Well then! If that's the case, then I'm relieved! Ayano-senpai deserves waaaaay better than a smelly boy like you!" She snorted, effectively making Budo's calm and composed face twitch in an annoyed look.

It didn't start nicely between the two…

 _I better stop this, I don't like the atmosphere…_ Ayano thought in worry as she carefully rubbed Budo's back in attempt to calm him down. "W-Well, Midori-chan. No matter what you say, he's still my shishou, so let's keep things friendly, yes?" She attempted to ease things back, but only barely. Seeing how it was futile, Ayano sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Okay, um… Since we're short on time, I'll go straight to the point…" The teenage yandere started, extending her hand towards Budo to receive the job's flyer. Once he gave her the paper, she showed it to Midori; "I came for the job, I heard the arcade was hiring—"

She didn't manage to finish her sentence due to Midori suddenly squealing in delight and clapping her hands repeatedly, making the young boy next to her cover his ears in annoyance.

"YES! YES! Ayano-senpai's going to work here! That's the best day ever! I'm so happy! OMG! I gotta' post this on my blog, everyone's gotta' know ASAP!"

"Hey! Calm down, ugly!" The boy shouted as he kicked Midori on the leg, making her fall down in pain. Despite that, she didn't stop writing on her mobile phone, determined to share the news online. Curious and absolutely terrified at the same time, Budo sneaked a peek at what the young girl was typing-

 _GaikozBoss22: OMG! Guys, you aren't going to believe this! My crush is going to work with me! w ! It's like a dream come true, even an infinity amount of EXP potions couldn't compare to this!_

… And then he frantically backed away as he poked Ayano on the shoulder.

"Wouldn't be safer for us to leave already?"

"Eh?" Ayano turned around, confused, "But… I haven't even applied for the job yet."

Budo pursed his lips as he continued staring at Midori. It wasn't as though he didn't trust the girl, or Ayano's wariness, but… Something seemed off and completely weird about them being together in a room. In a hand, he actually thought her working there would be good, convenient and more than helpful, but on another hand; there was Midori, whom he barely knew.

Their first impressions weren't good either.

 _Also, I don't want to admit that I'm jealous of a girl._ He thought to himself, seeing again the scene where Midori _oh-so-skillfully_ dug her head between Ayano's breasts.

"Well, you could always fill the form and apply for the job online, I think. Why not ask her?" He suggested and looked away in a desperate attempt to conceal his blush. Ayano thought for a while before nodding.

"Hm, good idea!" She said simply as she started talking to the still-on-the-ground Midori.

In the meantime, Budo sighed, and the little boy right next to him did too.

"Your girlfriend better not flirt with ugly, ok?"

His only answer was a frustrated and embarrassed glare.

* * *

"Done! I'll be sending the e-mail tonight and wait for their answer." Ayano said happily as she hid the contact info inside her bag. Budo smiled weakly in return.

"Yeah! That's great, but… Don't you wanna' go look for other potentially good jobs?" He suggested hopefully, wanting very much to forget the atrocious and disgraceful feeling of being jealous. It wasn't very noble and… Hero-worthy.

Ayano shrugged with a smile, seemingly oblivious to his concerns. "Yeah, sure. After all, we still got a bit of time so, why not?"

Relieved to hear that, Budo smiled and thanked the skies in a silent prayer before leading the way.

The other jobs they found weren't all that fancy. The second place they went to was a bookstore not so far away from school, near the park. It appeared to pay well too, but the schedule they give her didn't seem to be convenient at all.

The third place was in an indoor-pool. They were looking for young and strong teenagers or young adults that could take in the role of life-guards, and so far Budo was the one that caught their eye, not Ayano, which offended her. Needless to say, she didn't want to appoint for the job due to their blatant disinterest in her.

The fourth job was in a clothing store, popular around town. So far they liked what they saw in Ayano; saying she had class and proper air. They were only looking for a shop clerk, but they insisted she could be more than that if she did properly. They give her their contact info immediately.

By the time they exited that shop, Budo noticed the time and swore under his breath.

"Damn, it's already three-fourty." He hissed at himself and ran a hand through his hair, "there's still one more place we've got to go to as well, I bothered my friend with it…"

"Ah, that's fine!" Ayano reassured him, her eyes shining in mischief for a brief second. "There's always another solution… But, ah… Your friend wouldn't like it, I'm sure."

"Huh?" Budo looked confused, then tenderly brushed Ayano's cheek with his finger, "It's alright, do tell me."

She looked away with a fake blush as she grabbed his hand, then plucked a kiss on his palm, making him gasp. "No, I don't want to be a hassle, I'll just go home now—"

He didn't let her finish as he held both sides of her head and looked at her straight in the eye, looking sincere and very much concerned.

"No, please tell me; Ayano! I'll do anything for you, anything!" He said, determined to make her every wish come true. Ayano noticed the devotion in his grey eyes, and smirked within the darkness of her mind.

 _Perfect._

She pretended to think in concern for a brief moment before sighing, "I thought… Well, maybe it'll be alright to take me towards that place with your friend? I mean, you're going to show her around, right? So it wouldn't hurt for me to tag along for just a little bit?"

At that moment, Ichiro's words came kicking within Budo's conscience.

 _'Well, you could always go with your girlfriend too, it's not like that bratty ex-crush of yours would ruin the mood.'_

"… You sure about this, Ayano? I mean, she's not very pleasant…" He tried to make her reconsider, because it wasn't as if he didn't _want_ her to tag along. No, it was the complete opposite of that, he was sure that her presence would make everything better, that it'll soothe him, make him happier and forget about his past feelings. But the thought of having annoying little Osana talk about their childhood and make crude remarks was just… Bad.

Nonetheless, Ayano still nodded; looking determined herself.

"It's okay, I'll only be there for a bit anyways." She smiled then blushed slightly, "I also want to see that girl with my own two eyes… For personal reasons."

Budo blinked twice before grinning, amused. So, he wasn't the only one that was jealous, eh? That was reassuring.

"She doesn't compare to you…" He whispered sweetly as he plucked a single wet kiss on her forehead.

That answer was enough.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, they were in front of Najimi's house; with Ayano looking completely at ease, and Budo… Not so much.

He knocked on the door, knowing what will happen next… Osana would emerge wearing her prettiest clothes because her father surely forgot his name by now, making her think that he was Yamada instead. Then, once she'll see him, she'll be visibly disappointed and wouldn't care less about him, like the good old times. After that, Ayano's presence would possibly stir curiosity within the petite girl, and he'll come up with the 'friend/disciple' card like he did with Midori.

And, sure enough; that's exactly what happened.

In a flash of light, Osana Najimi opened the door; wearing a cute, frilly pink dress that stopped just above the knees. Her long orange hair was styled in twin-tails, looking longer than before, while her face had a positive amount of makeup.

Her expression went from happy and excited to annoyed and disappointed in barely a second.

"Oh… So the 'long-awaited friend' was you, Budo." She spoke flatly, barely containing a sigh. The martial arts master rolled his eyes and looked everywhere but Osana.

"Yeah, happy to see you too, Osana." He said, trying to hold an ounce of civism, even with her. Had it been his old kid self, he would have swooned over how lovely and cute Osana looked, but that young Budo died years ago… Along with his feelings.

Now, she merely looked like a normal, but cute girl that he hadn't seen in a while.

"Sheesh," Osana waved her hand in annoyance as she closed the door, "when my dad starting thinking and messing up the names, I was one-hundred percent sure that he meant Taro, and not 'Yugo'. Turns out he was trying to say Budo all along. Well, can't exactly blame him. Your name _is_ weird after all so…" She trailed off slowly as her gaze caught that of Ayano's, who was standing there, smiling ever so gently. The petite girl tilted her head and asked, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy. "And… Who's this?"

Budo opened his mouth to introduce her, but she was quicker than expected.

"My name is Ayano Aishi, I am Masuta-Senpai's disciple in the martial-arts club. It's a pleasure to meet such a lovely girl like you," she said sweetly and proceeded to greet Osana European-style, by kissing both her cheeks.

The smaller girl froze then backed away slowly, touching her cheek with a blush and a frown. Budo's eyes widened for a second, but then he figured that such a greeting was no big deal after all.

"Ah… Uh, the pleasure is all mine…" She answered, slightly embarrassed. "Will you uh… Tag along with us?"

"Yes, but only for a short while. Budo plans to take me to one last place before I'll head off home. Don't worry, I won't eat away your precious time together."

"No, it's fine." She shrugged then looked at Budo with a surprisingly calm stare, "so, where are we going?"

 _What the-_

Perhaps Ayano's presence was truly a blessing after all.

* * *

Mina Rai sat on a vacant chair, close to a window and stared at every passerby while looking visibly annoyed. There were plenty of reasons why she was annoyed, but the thing that annoyed her the most was definitely her outfit.

 _Shishou is coming, and I look like a clown. Shishou's going to see me look like a clown. Shishou will think I_ _ **am**_ _a clown. Shishou'll see me as comic relief. Shishou's going to be disappointed. I'll end up being friendzoned by shishou one day. Sho Kunin's going to laugh his ass off soon enough. I'll beat him up when that happens. Life sucks, this outfit sucks, people around me are idiots, and I have no clue what to do now since we're almost closing._

She had been waiting and muttering to herself for a while now, all the while expecting Budo to come into that door with the friend he spoke to her about, ready to show him/her around and ask about the café's open hours. She had also planned on what to say, what facial expressions to make and how to act. So far, even while wearing that dreadful yellow uniform, she still wanted to be pretty, even if it felt impossible or far-fetched.

Mina sighed and stood up, thinking that perhaps, her shishou had an appointment elsewhere or an emergency. It wasn't his habit to come late or to cancel anything in the last minute, but if it was urgent, then she couldn't help it. She understood him very much so it was no big deal.

But just as she was about to go and change her clothes did Budo's cheerful face appear _right in front of her._

"Hello, Mina-san! Sorry for being late." He greeted with one of his boyish smiles, looking visibly stunning in his plain white shirt. If she'd try, she could even get a glimpse of the find muscles underneath his clothes-

 _No! Get a hold of yourself!_ She mentally scolded her brain for going that far.

He came after all, that's what mattered!

Mina cleared her throat and spoke in her usual tone, "Shishou… You came late, we're going to close soon."

"Ah, I know. I'm sorry about that, really. I've had a few things to take care of, forgive me…" He apologized sincerely and Mina felt like her heart would leap out of her chest.

"N-No, it's fine. Uhm, you said you needed me for something?"

Budo nodded as he turned and side-stepped, revealing two young teenage girls that looked stunning in their own way. One of them, Mina recognized very well; for she was Ayano Aishi from class 2-1, her classmate and potential love rival. From what she had seen, she and Budo got along very well… Almost _too_ well for her liking, and were often seen together in weird places.

She didn't doubt her shishou, but she still felt uneasy.

The other girl, Mina knew nothing about her, but she still didn't like her anyways. In fact, she didn't like any pretty girl that would stand in a ten-foot radius from her shishou.

 _Doesn't matter, gotta' look calm._

And so she forced a smile on her face, trying to appear as kind as possible near the two girls. Her beloved shishou needed to keep a positive impression of her, no matter what the circumstances. Besides, part of their training was to remain calm and composed in every kind of situation.

She will have to be just that, calm and composed.

Ayano was the first who properly introduced herself, even though they knew each other. She smiled and bowed politely, Mina did the same.

"Hello, Mina-san. It's such a pleasant coincidence to see you here!" She spoke politely. The short-haired brunette nodded in acknowledgement.

"Likewise." Her eyes then wandered towards Osana before smiling. The tsundere jumped slightly and bowed as well.

"I'm Osana Najimi, good to meet you." She said, sounding just a little embarrassed. Mina greeted back the same, glad to know that the little one had manners, if only just a little bit.

Seeing as though things were going well (according to him), Budo decided to explain Ayano's situation to Rai, who was quick to follow up. So far, she needed a part-time job that could cover her expenses without taking too much of her busy schedule. If she were to get hired, both she and Mina would get the same shifts, much to the latter's inconvenience.

So far the short-haired martial artist did a good job in explaining to her what the job consisted of. It was simple, really. Being a waitress wasn't foreign to the yandere and she grasped the idea without difficulty. The café's owner gave her their contact info and Ayano gladly accepted it, ignoring Mina's look of annoyance.

Meanwhile, Budo had to stick to his word and make sure Osana was having a good time. So all the while waiting for Mina to finish giving Ayano a tour, he suggested for them to sit down and order something while waiting. And, of course, Osana took her sweet time in picking something within the menu. According to her, everything looked bad or had too much calories. But in the eyes of Budo, everything looked fine. Besides, a little fat wouldn't kill her, she was far too skinny.

It took her about 20 minutes to finally pick something that was, so far, 'acceptable', and by that time Budo already felt extremely tired. Once she ordered, she started talking about random things and how she hated the town she lived in before, how everyone was a jerk to her and how she missed her friends here. Then, she started asking about Taro, and Budo decided to remain silent about the murders and his situation… For now.

The orange-haired girl then stuttered, saying that it wasn't like she _cared_ about Taro or anything! It was just plain old concern, and Budo wanted to scoff at that.

Every now and then though, he'd search for Ayano with his eyes; and they'd stay there… Admiring the young woman in all her glory.

He liked watching her, he decided. Everything that emitted from her was pure joy to him. She was graceful, kind, and beautiful in her own way. Her body language wasn't provocative in any way, and she felt modest in the way she dressed herself.

Of course, there was also _that_ side of her. The side which she showed him and him only, the side that felt both sensual and dangerous… One that spoke about intimacy without words, one that made Budo feel odd and strangely at ease.

There was something about her eyes and that smile, something very sweet yet very dark at the same time.

It made him shiver.

"Hey!" A voice suddenly interrupted him, and the martial arts master jumped slightly in surprise.

"Wah! Yes?!"

Osana glared at him, her strawberry milkshake half empty. She pointed with her thumb at Ayano's figure outside, waving kindly with a smile.

"Your disciple's leaving, go and see her off." She spoke as if it was an order, and Budo briefly wondered if it was before he muttered a quick 'thanks' and left.

Mina saw that sudden dash and sighed to herself, Osana raised an eyebrow.

"What's up with you?" She sasked, ignoring the fact that it might sound rude.

The disciple felt like her hands were becoming sweaty, "Um, nothing… I just feel a little sick."

"Air conditioning?" Osana started. Mina nodded.

"Yeah, it's probably because of that."

 _Damn it, shishou…_

* * *

"Ayano, wait!" Budo shouted, effectively making the yandere halt on her tracks.

"Oh, Budo. You don't have to see me off!"

"What are you saying? That's the least I can do! Besides, let me walk you home…" He suggested hopefully as he caressed her arm.

Ayano shook her head, "I appreciate the offer, but you can't leave Osana like that. Stay with her, she probably needs you more than me, since she doesn't know about the murders yet…"

Budo gnawed his inner jaw, "Okay, you're right. But hey, at the very least; lemme' call a cab for you!"

"Nah, I only have to wait…" She looked at her watch briefly, "Ten more minutes and the bus'll be here. No worries!"

He stared at her for a silent while, worry written everywhere on his face. There was no questioning his feelings for her, they were strong. Possibly stronger than he could ever think of, and it scared him a little.

How far would he go for this girl? How precious is she to him? He didn't know, and he was scared to know.

If he continued to fall deeper, would there be no turning back?

Ayano seemed to have noticed this, and so she chuckled lightly; gaining his attention.

"You're so cute, Budo." She commented, and Budo's eyes widened.

"Wha-? I'm a guy, being called cute isn't exactly a compliment." He said, looking flustered while trying to conceal his blush. Ayano grinned and hugged him tightly, nuzzling her nose on his strong chest. He didn't waste time in hugging her back, suddenly feeling very warm and happy.

They were on a small alley, hidden from view. It was quiet and Budo was sure no one would see them, be it either Osana or Mina. But despite that, he still felt uneasy.

Ayano heard Budo's beating heart while smirking lightly, she remembered of her sudden dilemma before Budo came knocking on her door, and shivers went down her spine. She still felt the urge to kill, to hurt someone in a near distance, to murder that meddlesome Osana and keep her senpai for herself…

But she had to suppress that urge no matter what. And to do so…

"Ah!"

 _What the?_

It only occurred to him at that brief moment that Ayano wasn't _just_ hugging him…

She was kissing him too.

Her hands unbuttoned his shirt only lightly, just about enough for her to plant wet kisses on his chest. Bludo blushed and felt himself heat at the sight, trying his best to form a coherent sentence despite his now _bulging_ dilemma.

"A-Ayano, this really isn't—"

"Hush now, Budo. Let me do this just this one time…" She whispered as she gently bit the nape of his neck, making him shudder. Her lips gently sucked on the pale flesh, making sure to hurt him only slightly. His breath hitched and his grip on her clothes tightened at that, effectively making the yandere smile.

Once she was sure she sucked enough, she darted her tongue out to lick the injured skin in order to reduce the pain and soothe him. The coppery taste of blood awakened her, and she repeated the process on numerous parts on his chest; biting, sucking, nibbling, licking… It didn't matter, because Budo lost himself.

But just like that, something clicked and the martial artist woke up from his daze; realizing exactly what they were doing in public.

"A-Ayano! Stop! We're in public!" He spoke quickly, trying to gently push the smaller teen away. Ayano rolled her eyes and continued biting his slightly tanned skin. The muscles kept flexing according to her touch and movements, proof that Budo was actually sensitive.

"Oh stop it, Budo. Nobody's even paying attention." She tried to ease his wary thoughts by running her hands through his back, and his blush intensified. He felt like he'd moan if she continued doing such… Such… weird things.

"Somebody could very well see us!"

"Hm? Nah…" She reassured him and traced the lines of the muscles on his chest with her tongue. His skin was salty, obviously due to his hard work and sweat, but she paid no mind.

"Th-This is wrong…" He finally breathed, feeling dizzy. His eyes were half-lid, completely unfocused as he stared at his beautiful girlfriend slowly marking every inch of his body with her lips, biting and kissing and _leaving marks everywhere._

"It is, isn't it?" She whispered, finally stopping; her hands cupping his cheeks. "Your sense of justice is telling you that it isn't right, and because…?"

He couldn't form an answer due to him breathing heavily and feeling out of this world, but somehow, he understood her.

"I…" He started, but Ayano shushed him with her fingers gently scratching his scalp.

"Mhm, right… You're a good boy, I'm sure that if you found a couple doing naughty things like that in public, you'll stop them, saying cute and dutiful things like: _You shouldn't do these kinds of things in public!_ " She imitated his voice in a teasing way, and Budo looked elsewhere as he blushed.

She was darn right.

Ayano smirked and caressed the back of his neck, "Hm, thought so. That's so like you after all, senpai… Only thing is, you wouldn't have understood back then, because you're inexperienced." She chuckled.

"I… I am, and I'm not ashamed." He admitted, closing his eyes slowly.

"Of course not, after all… You're a hero aren't you? Heroes aren't supposed to do scandalous things on the streets, they're allies of justice who have to keep an image… But senpai…"

She grabbed his chin to tilt his head upward, making his eyes open slightly. She had the weirdest of expressions on her face right now, and he had no clue what it meant.

"You have no idea how _lewd_ you look right now," she whispered with a grin, suddenly making the older teen self aware.

"Wh-What…"

"If only you could see yourself right now… Half naked, sweating, panting on a dark alley with hickeys all over your body… You'd be surprised, hn."

Budo's eyes widened as he looked down, noticing his wide open shirt and his sweaty chest filled with kiss-marks. The impact of their current situation hit them like a hurricane and he immediately buttoned his shirt back on, shocked beyond compare at what he _allowed_ himself to be in.

Ayano laughed slightly and Budo threw a very weak glare at her direction. It wasn't her fault, he knew he was the one who was so… _weak_ when it came to _these_ things. He couldn't help it, he was a teenage boy with hormones and _needs._ Having a girlfriend whom he loved very much didn't help things either, no wonder he'd screw up sometimes; even in his ideology.

He didn't want to screw up again, but he most certainly didn't want to hurt Ayano either.

Besides, he hated to admit it but… He enjoyed what they had done, very very much.

Suddenly though, Ayano looked very sad.

"Senpai, do you hate me?" She asked, sounding hurt. Budo choked on his own spit and looked at her.

"What?"

She looked at the ground while twirling her thumbs, "Kissing you in public… Do you hate me for doing it?"

His shoulders slumped as he shook his head, not believing what he was hearing. "I love you." He spoke, very clearly for her to hear, and her eyes lit up.

"Eh?"

Budo hugged her tightly.

"I love you, Ayano. No matter what you do, I'll always love you…" He paused and swallowed slightly, feeling the heat on his cheeks, "And I wasn't really upset, I was just… Afraid that I might… End up hurting you afterwards…"

Ayano looked up at him, her head still resting on his chest; "Hurt me?" She repeated, curious. Budo sighed and nodded slowly.

"If you keep doing things like that, yeah… I mean, I _am_ a man and—"

Curiously, Ayano pressed their hips together-

Budo jolted, and she felt it.

"Aya-!"

"Ohh, I see…" Was her slow answer as she gently broke off their hug with a smile, "Senpai feels that way about me, eh?"

 _Oh crap oh crap!_

"N..! Uhh…" He slumped in defeat, blushing harder than before, "…Yes… Yes I do, and I'm angry at myself."

Ayano smiled and carefully plucked two sweet kisses on his lips, "No, don't be. These feelings of yours make me happy…" She whispered seductively, making Budo feel the heat invade his cheeks again.

"I don't… Want to speed things up, I want us to go slow! And if I keep getting… You know-! All the time, then there's no guarantee that I won't end up attacking you!"

"Don't worry Budo, you won't." She reassured him, "You're a good person, you'll never end up hurting me… Besides, who said that I _didn't_ want to be attacked by you?" She added with a smirk.

Before Budo could say anything, Ayano noticed the bus was coming, and so she broke off their intimate distance all the while looking apologetic.

"Seems like it's my cue to leave… Thank you so much for what you did, Budo. I appreciate your help, I think I already know where I'll be working now." She informed him, and Budo suddenly felt very cold without Ayano's gentle warmth.

"Don't worry about it, I actually wanted to apologize… Sorry about today."

"Don't worry, senpai!" She smiled brightly, "I had lots of fun job-seeking with you today! Also, I'm more than at ease now…" The yandere grinned as she pointed at a visible hickey on his neck, "This oughta' keep the other girls in their proper place!"

Budo suddenly realized what she was talking about and his hand immediately covered the red kiss-mark with his hand, blushing.

"Ehe, I'll call you!" Was all Ayano said before dashing towards the bus and disappearing from his sight.

The martial artist ran a hand through his hair and bit his bottom lip, feeling extremely unlucky to have a hard-on again, in such an indecent place.

"This girl will one day be the death of me…" He whispered to himself with a smile and a blush, already thinking of their possible future dates together.

 **TBC.**

 **Nope, never going to drop this story,** _**ever.**_ **I love it too much, and I love you guys just as much. I know the update was slow and I'm aware it's rude and cruel of me, but life is such a pain in the ass sometimes. I'm sorry.**

 **Please review, I missed my connection with you readers!**


	11. Important Notice

**Important Notice.**

 **Hello, my dear loyal readers! It's D0T, back again from the dead. It's been a year since I updated my story 'The Hero & The Psycho', and I believe most of you thought I had given up on it. Surely.**

 **I came here to say this precisely because I've been reading my reviews and I wanted to confirm that, no, I did not give up on my story, and I will never give up on it. Now, most of you might wonder how I managed to leave it untouched for so long? Easy, writers' block. Life. Health problems.**

 **I'll start with writer's block.**

 **Now, to put it in a simple way; when I first started this fic I had fully intended to update my chapters according to YandereDev's very own updates, so I could add his new ideas to my fic as well, keep you guys entertained, you know? Perhaps even add a slight touch of my own imagination as well…**

 **However, as time went by I started to realize… Hey, I can't continue writing my story while being faithful of YandereDev's rather regular updates, new characters and Easter eggs. No. My story would end up being a mess. I've had a clear idea in the start, and now it's all foggy because I wanted to add the new characters and such… But woopsie, I** _**can't.**_ **Hell, my story isn't even close to canon since the main pairing is Ayano/Budo. Still…**

 **Two months ago, I decided to not follow canon or the wiki anymore.**

 **Yes, the main rivals will be included, and all of my OCs (aka Budo's family) will remain intact. The plot I've originally had in mind will still continue, and I intend to finish everything in less than a year. There's still a possibility that my fic will look like a total AU when the game's done, but I can live with that.**

 **That's why I hope you will all enjoy the story, regardless. If possible.**

 **Now, life & health. Yes, I'm a sickly person so I tend to be in bed a lot. I have no laptop, just a pc, so in order to write I have to sit down on my desk and start typing. My parents aren't fond of the idea, so you can guess why I haven't written much anyway. I try to write when I'm on vacation, that way things could be better. Smoother.**

 **To sum it up, this was a rather tedious year and I wanted to make you readers happy, but I failed. I'm terribly sorry, I apologize for making you all wait for a chapter, without even telling you anything on Twitter. (Which, I've forgotten the password for… great.)**

 **I will try to recover my twitter account, and if I do, I'll notify you all of the updates like I used to.**

 **Tomorrow, I'll re-write the next chapter. And in two days, I'll try to update it.**

 **I love you all.**

 **-D0T**


	12. Chapter 11

**Short chapter, I know, the other will be far longer, I promise.  
Just leaving a cliffhanger because I'm just in the mood for one, heh.**

 **(Prepare yourselves for the next chapter.)**

The Hero & The Psycho.

Taro Yamada awoke to the sound of someone knocking continuously on his door, disrupting his dreamless slumber. It had been a while since the teen earned some rest, and therefore; this new annoyance had him thoroughly angry.

"Who on their right mind would come knocking so early?" He muttered to himself, pushing the covers aside to get dressed and appear… somewhat presentable. Whoever this was, they were going to have a piece of his mind…

With one hell of a frown, Taro came down from the stairs and opened the door briskly, not caring if it seemed rude or uncivilized. He was well aware that he had a severe case of bed-hair and wrinkled clothes, but it mattered not. What mattered; was the little orange-haired brat on his doorstep.

"Yes?" He spat, uncaring of the girl's shocked gasp. What on earth did she expect? A friendly greeting at eight in the morning, during a high-schooler's _vacation?_ Not in a million years. Teens get grouchy when someone messes with their lazy mornings.

The twin-tailed girl chewed on her bottom lip, her face beat red. She appeared somewhat familiar, and he could clearly tell that she was about his age, or a bit younger, despite her tiny size. Regardless, she was most likely a girl from his school, but he wouldn't think about it more than necessary. The girl didn't utter a word, or even introduce herself, or even… apologized. What was she? Mute? Deaf?

Taro knew some sign language, just a bit, so he decided to experiment a little.

"Are. You. Deaf?" He asked while moving his arms, hands, and fingers to express himself in sign language. Maybe she needed financial help and went knocking on doors to seek it. She should've picked for a better time though, but he'll leave the scolding for later.

The orange-haired girl shook her head immediately, "N-No! I'm.. I'm uh—"

"So you can talk? Okay, speak. What do you want?" He asked her harshly, losing his patience. If it wasn't important, then he better head back to bed.

"Osana!" A familiar voice suddenly called from behind the girl, "I told you to wait! I said—Oh…"

Taro furrowed his brows and glanced at his best friend, Budo Masuta, whom appeared out of nowhere.

"Budo?" He uttered, confused at what was going on. "What are you doing here? And who is this girl?"

The young martial-artist scratched his forehead sheepishly, unsure at what to say. Drats, he should've guessed that Osana meant trouble! If he had known that she was such an early riser, then maybe he would have avoided jogging in the neighborhood. Half an hour prior to this little scene, Osana had ordered him to show her Taro's house.

He wanted to flee instantly.

But she was a persistent one, the brat. He had told her not to disturb Taro's sleep, to wait for a bit… And there you have it, she didn't listen.

Now, what to do?

"Good morning, Yamada! Err, nice weather we're having, eh?" Budo laughed in embarrassment, trying to lighten up the mood a little. Sadly, Taro was in no mood to laugh along.

"Budo."

"Ahh, okay okay! We're sorry…" He bowed in apology while pushing Osana's head down to do the same, "we didn't want to disturb you, really! But…"

He raised his head up and gave Osana a warm pat, "She insisted on seeing you, so…"

Taro raised an eyebrow, "do I know her?" he asked. Sure, she looked familiar, but he was too tired and too annoyed to actually care at the moment. Though he did feel a bit guilty for being so rude, after Budo's frantic apologizing.

His reply seemed to have made the little orange-haired girl jump.

"You don't remember her? It's Osana Najimi." Budo said, "Our childhood friend."

"Oh." Taro uttered lamely, "Welcome back, you okay?"

"I.. Yes, I'm okay! What about you?" She blushed a little.

"Just peachy." He muttered and slightly pushed the door, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get some sleep."

Before Osana could say anything of importance, Taro slammed the door shut, leaving both she and Budo alone and confused on his doorstep.

Silence…

 _Well, this is incredibly awkward… I wonder how she took it?_

Both curious and worried, Budo decided to take Osana's hand and walk her away from Taro's doorstep, slowly, gently. It didn't go like planned, and he was positive that the young girl was saddened by his mood.

So with outmost care, Budo crouched down to peek at Osana's face.

"Are you okay, Osana?" He whispered gently. She shook her head and turned away.

"Yeah, it's fine." She said and walked ahead briskly, "Let's go, Budo."

He didn't buy it. Not one bit.

"Osana, wait!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, "I know you're upset, so hear me out—"

"No!" She cried out and threw numerous little punches on his broad chest. He didn't move a muscle, as if merely stung by a mosquito. Sometimes, Osana would be impressed by his rather large size and firm physique, but other times it would turn out to be a huge pain in the ass.

Because she couldn't push him away.

"Let me go, you brute!" Osana shouted, trying her mighty best to escape the tough teen's embrace. No matter how many times it happened, Budo would never understand how to properly stop a girl from crying… Not that he was the one at fault; she had the brilliant idea to disturb a depressed teenager during the morning! Not him!

"Osana, calm down, please." Budo whispered, afraid to wake up the whole neighborhood. "We're going to disturb everyone, let's go talk somewhere…"

Osana considered his offer briefly with a sniffle.

"… okay."

* * *

Budo took her to the same park he and Ayano had kissed for the first time, confirming their relationship. It was a quiet little place surrounded by nature, not so far from the neighborhood, but also not quite as close, so as to not cause a scene. Osana was prone to yell loudly at any given moment, he wouldn't risk gaining unwanted attention in such a treasured place.

They sat down on the same bench, which made the martial-artist gain a wave of fluffy thoughts.

He cleared his throat and gave her a handkerchief, so she could wipe the tears and snot off of her crying face.

Five minutes went by, and he decided it was time to talk.

"How are you feeling?" He asked gently.

"How does it look like I'm feeling, asshole?!"

 _Okay, she seems a bit fine._

He shrugged and took a sip of water from his backpack. He had been jogging, after all, but unsurprisingly, Osana turned out to be far more tiring than any type of physical activity.

"Don't be sad, Osana. Yamada isn't feeling like himself lately…"

"Wh-what's happened to him?" She asked with a hic.

"Lots of things. He… Well, let's just say that the whole town isn't doing very well."

Osana looked up at him with a confused expression.

He decided to tell her everything.

 **Five hours later…**

Ayano hummed joyfully as she cleaned her series of knives on the table, making sure that the edges remained sharp and efficient. Half an hour ago, she made a phone call to the café Mina worked at, so she could apply for the job and properly keep an eye out for her. That disciple meant no good, especially since her love for Budo was as clear as day. The last thing she wanted was another rival added to the list… and one competing for Budo, of all people. If she could, she'd reassure her that her feelings towards the martial-artist were platonic, but that wouldn't be possible at all.

She sighed and looked out of her window, wondering what the love of her life was doing. Surely, he was worried about the murders, gentle soul that he is… But regardless of that, his sympathy wasn't something Ayano cherished much out of him, even if, it was one of the things that made her love him.

All in all, Taro Yamada was a person that she needed in her life.

"Even if he breaks, I wouldn't mind… Oh but that would pain me so." She tsked and sighed once more while looking at her reflection on the blade. What a cruel woman she was… There was no hope for her to change, no hope at all. Taro would have to live with that, or not. They could just die together if he wouldn't accept her feelings. Death sounded good too.

But there were many odds against them, for one, (though she wasn't much of a believer) she ought to consider the possibility of being thrown in hell, and him in heaven. She could try her hardest to drag him to hell also, but that felt wrong in many levels.

In the end, perhaps hiding her murderous persona would be wiser.

Suddenly, the phone rang.

She picked it up and answered with a melodious voice.

"Yes, hello~"

"Aishi-San, hello." Mina spoke on the other side of the line, sounding very professional.

Ayano frowned, "Mina… Yes, do you need me?"

"I called to tell you that you got the job."

 _Mmm, wonderful!_

"Really? Oh, that's great! I'm so happy… When can I start?"

There was a small pause and Ayano started thinking that the girl got uncomfortable.

"Well, how about in an hour?"

"Excuse me?"

"Uh, one of the waitresses called and she's apparently ill. We need an extra hand here, and… You applied, so…"

Ah, so they needed her right away. Usually, they wouldn't make her work so early, considering they didn't even show her the ropes and all. But she was Ayano Aishi, everything was fine, no matter what.

She needed the money.

"Hm, alright then. Guess I'll get ready, thanks for letting me know!"

"No problem, we… are grateful for your help."

"You don't sound very grateful though." Ayano teased with an evil smirk.

"Uhh! No, I'm just..!" She stammered and the yandere could tell that she was spot-on. It was SO easy to read other people, especially girls, they were very honest about their feelings.

Mina was like an open-book, and her hostility was rather obvious.

"A-Anyway, you better not be late!" She declared and hung up on the yandere.

Ayano chuckled.

 _What a cute little thing, oblivious to my plans. I don't particularly mind her, but her feelings towards Budo might be a hassle._

She began thinking to herself for a while. She never considered the possibility of Budo having admirers, though he was handsome and very unique. Even if she HAD known, it wouldn't have caused much of a problem since he wasn't Taro Yamada anyway. Once she'll be through using him, then he could date any girl he'll want.

Even Mina, if his tastes were that bad.

"But she's a pain, a sharp pain in the arse." Ayano muttered, "I think I might need to kill her."

With that thought, she carefully hid her knife and prepared herself for a day at work.

* * *

Mina sighed loudly as she hung up on the phone, feeling more tired than ever. Who would've thought that Ayano Aishi would be so… so unpredictable? Any normal person would have felt surprised or annoyed at being called for work so soon, but she took that very well. Part of her wanted to annoy the yandere, have her go on edge to see how ugly she could become! But for some reason, it did not happen.

Maybe she truly was a perfect little bitch, like she feared.

"Ughhh!" The disciple groaned and covered her face, "Why did she have to come here! Of all places, she just HAD to pick a café?! If it weren't for shishou I'd—"

"Mina-chan?" A sweet, caring voice called from the kitchen, making Mina turn around quickly in surprise. "What's wrong? Why are you so down?"

"O-Odayaka-san! I'm okay!" Mina stuttered with a blush, "It's just… Well… A girl from my class is coming to work here, and I don't get along with her very well."

"Oh?" The green-eyed brunette smiled and gave her friend a cup of hot chocolate, "I never knew you'd be the type to hold a grudge on someone, Mina-chan."

Mina blew some air on her hot cocoa, "Mhm, me neither. But she's a special case, I guess."

"What's her name?"

"Ayano Aishi."

Amai Odayaka looked up in deep thought. She never heard that name before, really. Most of the school's troublemakers had a reputation, so there was a high chance that this Ayano was an average girl, and not a 'villain'.

Mina only ever held grudges against bad people, delinquents, and/or girls with loose attitudes. However, Amai had a feeling that it went further than that.

"Is she your love rival, perhaps?"

Mina coughed on her drink.

"Wh-What! What makes you think that?!"

Amai smiled sweetly, "My, it's pretty obvious, no? A girl usually dislikes her rivals in love, so it wouldn't be surprising for you to loathe her, in a way."

"I… I honestly don't think she's my rival, though. It's just… Ahh! It's complicated!"

"Why?" The brunette wondered while patting her friend on the back.

"I don't think she loves my shishou." Mina muttered, "But I think _he_ loves her. I can tell by the look in his eyes, he always softens whenever she passes by, or when she talks to him… He never looks at me like that."

Amai bit her lip and listened quietly.

Mina continued, "He's so very kind, so I thought he was just being his usual self with her… But then I noticed that it was different. He does everything she says, he talks about her like she means the world, and when someone asks him if he loves her, he would lose his composure and just stutter his way through…"

"What about her feelings?" Amai asked, and the martial-arts girl snorted.

"She's using him, I'm sure. She's so flirty it's disgusting."

"Ah."

"That's why I'm not very enthusiastic with this whole 'co-worker' thing now."

Amai nodded her head in understanding, "I see… Sadly, we don't have much power over this, but at least, we should stay strong!"

Mina smiled faintly, "I'll try, I just hope I won't have to suffer with a mushy-mushy scene between her and shishou."

"They're not dating, though." She rubbed her chin in thought, then raised an eyebrow, "Unless she's planning on seducing him to get there?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to know! Actually, I feel like I need to get rid of her for some reason."

"Mina-chan!"

"I'm serious! She gives me the creeps! There are evil vibes coming out of her!"

The door opened suddenly and both girls stood up to fix their appearances. Their first customer came exactly during opening time.

But just as Mina was about to greet them, did she notice the customer's face.

It was Budo Masuta, with Osana Najimi clinging on to him with a blush.

"Morning, Mina-san! I'm sorry to bother you, but is it okay for us to stay here for a while?" He asked with a worried glance. Mina's eyes darted to the cute girl by his side, making her take another deep breath.

Perhaps there was more to worry about. Ayano wasn't her only rival, it seems.

 **TBC.**

 **Gore incoming! Gore incoming!**  
 **This is when the story gets rather messy, for all of you who aren't fond of a little bloody mess; I will put a warning sign on the next chapter.**

 **I hope you review, I love you all.**


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